The Council of State rejected Friday the request of two associations of defense of the Gypsies concerning the spoliation of their community, by excluding the annulment of the decree of 1999 which establishes the "
commission for the compensation of the victims of spoliations occurred because of the anti-Semitic legislation in force during the Occupation
”.
Read also: Gypsies demand the return of their property looted under the Occupation
The Union for the active defense of fairgrounds (UDAF) and the France Liberté Voyage association demanded the annulment of this decree, or at least the extension of its jurisdiction to all victims of spoliations, by deleting the words "
because of anti-Semitic legislation
”.
Faithful to its case law, the Council of State justified the difference in treatment between victims of spoliations due to anti-Semitic legislation and other victims, including Gypsies and members of the community of Travelers, due to the "
political of systematic extermination
”which targeted the former.
"
By creating the commission instituted by the contested decree, the government was able, without disregarding the principle of equality, to limit its competence to examining the particular situation of persecuted persons
" because of the anti-Semitic laws, argued the most. high administrative jurisdiction.
Painful affair
This is a painful affair for the associations for the defense of Gypsies.
During the examination of the request before the Council of State, on September 9, the lawyer of the UDAF and France Liberté Voyage, Olivier Le Mailloux, had explained to AFP that "
nothing was planned for Travelers in terms of compensation
”.
Read also: Discrimination: Knorr renames its "Gypsy sauce" in Germany
On April 6, 1940, a decree assigned the “
nomads
” to residence for the duration of the war.
Between 6000 and 6500 “
nomads
” were interned until 1946 in around thirty camps managed by the French authorities.
Some were deported.
Their property, such as trailers, merry-go-rounds, and more generally their personal effects, were confiscated by the French police.
Henriette Théodore, an 88-year-old Gypsy woman, who was interned with her family from 1941 to 1945, was present at the hearing on September 9. “
In the Montreuil-Bellay camp (Maine-et-Loire), we were treated like animals,
”she told AFP.
“
When we left, we had nothing left.
Everything had been taken from us,
”continued this lady.
This appeal to the Council of State represented "
a symbolic step, for the memory
", she explained.
