Romani Exclusion in France

Social exclusion has affected the lives of Romanies for centuries. Today, this continues in France as well as in many other countries across Europe. A large obstacle for Romani inclusion in France has been the lack of education regarding Romani history, which has enabled stereotypes and misperceptions of the Romani communities to become prominent. Additionally, many Romanies have not received general education as is expected by the French norm, resulting in a disparity within education, which in turn has contributed to the social exclusion experienced by Romanies. To understand how Romanies are being excluded from the hegemonic French norms, the matters of education, employment, housing, mobility, deportations and gender are explored through means of first hand interviews and fieldwork conducted in Ille-et-Vilaine, supplemented by media reports and previous research publications regarding exclusion and Romanies.