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Roma baby deemed unworthy of Paris cemetery by mayor is buried in nearby town | Daily Mail Online
Published: 17:03 GMT, 5 January 2015 | Updated: 18:22 GMT, 5 January 2015
A Roma couple buried their ten-week-old daughter in a Paris suburb miles from their home today, after the mayor of the town where they live refused to allow her to be buried there.
About 200 family members and townspeople attended a funeral Mass in Champlan, a Paris commuter town, on Monday. A hearse then took the small coffin to the town of Wissous for burial.
Wissous offered a gravesite for the baby after Champlan mayor Christian Leclerc reportedly refused a burial, saying the local cemetery had 'too few plots' and 'priority is given to those who pay taxes'.
Under heavy criticism, Mayor Leclerc later denied ever refusing a burial site. A top government official said he would investigate.
Whatever the truth, the case has brought to light the racism faced by France's estimated 20,000 Roma, also known as gipsies.
Like Maria's parents, most live in makeshift camps with few basic amenities. The community in general is regularly linked to crime and anti-social behaviour.
Pictures showed Iliana and Marin Francesca sobbing over their daughter Maria's white coffin on an damp and overcast morning in Wissous cemetery.
Most of the mourners appeared to be from the Roma community, but others looked like wellwishers who had lent their support out of outrage over the way the tragic case has been handled.
Loic Gandais, a Roma rights campaigner, said Mr Leclerc was simply expressing a hatred of Roma which is now widespread across France.
'It's about racism, xenophobia, and stigmatisation,' said Mr Gandais, saying the baby died in hospital in Corbeil-Essonnes from sudden infant death syndrome on Boxing Day.
Mr and Mrs Francesca are Romanians who have been living in France for eight years, sending their two other young children to local schools.
The plot in Wissous was made available for their late daughter after Richard Trinquier, the local mayor, said it was a 'question of humanity'.
'The pain of a mother who carried a child for nine months, and lost her after two and a half months must not be worsened,' said Mr Tranquier as he announced his decision.
Champlan's Roma gipsies live on two plots without fresh water or electricity. There are frequent calls for their camp to be razed.
Mr Valls, France's Socialist Prime Minister, is among many who have expressed a desire to see the country rid of its Roma community.
As Interior Minister, he often approved orders aimed at smashing up Roma camps and evicting entire families. He said on one occasion: 'The majority of Roma should be delivered back to the borders.
'We are not here to welcome these people…It's not France's job to deal with the misery of the whole world.'
But he struck a conciliatory note after the scandal surrounding Maria Francesca's burial, writing on Twitter: 'Refusing a child a burial because of its roots is an insult to its memory, an insult to France.'
Tragic: Iliana and Marin Francesca, both kneeling, grieve over the coffin of their ten-week-old daughter as she is laid to rest in a cemetery in Wissous, France, after she was refused a place in a cemetery in their town
- Champlan Mayor Christian Leclerc said the local cemetery was too full
- The mayor of Wissous offered one saying it was 'a question of humanity'
- After criticism, Mayor Leclerc later denied ever refusing a burial site
Published: 17:03 GMT, 5 January 2015 | Updated: 18:22 GMT, 5 January 2015
A Roma couple buried their ten-week-old daughter in a Paris suburb miles from their home today, after the mayor of the town where they live refused to allow her to be buried there.
About 200 family members and townspeople attended a funeral Mass in Champlan, a Paris commuter town, on Monday. A hearse then took the small coffin to the town of Wissous for burial.
Wissous offered a gravesite for the baby after Champlan mayor Christian Leclerc reportedly refused a burial, saying the local cemetery had 'too few plots' and 'priority is given to those who pay taxes'.
Under heavy criticism, Mayor Leclerc later denied ever refusing a burial site. A top government official said he would investigate.
Whatever the truth, the case has brought to light the racism faced by France's estimated 20,000 Roma, also known as gipsies.
Like Maria's parents, most live in makeshift camps with few basic amenities. The community in general is regularly linked to crime and anti-social behaviour.
Pictures showed Iliana and Marin Francesca sobbing over their daughter Maria's white coffin on an damp and overcast morning in Wissous cemetery.
Most of the mourners appeared to be from the Roma community, but others looked like wellwishers who had lent their support out of outrage over the way the tragic case has been handled.
Loic Gandais, a Roma rights campaigner, said Mr Leclerc was simply expressing a hatred of Roma which is now widespread across France.
'It's about racism, xenophobia, and stigmatisation,' said Mr Gandais, saying the baby died in hospital in Corbeil-Essonnes from sudden infant death syndrome on Boxing Day.
Mr and Mrs Francesca are Romanians who have been living in France for eight years, sending their two other young children to local schools.
The plot in Wissous was made available for their late daughter after Richard Trinquier, the local mayor, said it was a 'question of humanity'.
'The pain of a mother who carried a child for nine months, and lost her after two and a half months must not be worsened,' said Mr Tranquier as he announced his decision.
Champlan's Roma gipsies live on two plots without fresh water or electricity. There are frequent calls for their camp to be razed.
Mr Valls, France's Socialist Prime Minister, is among many who have expressed a desire to see the country rid of its Roma community.
As Interior Minister, he often approved orders aimed at smashing up Roma camps and evicting entire families. He said on one occasion: 'The majority of Roma should be delivered back to the borders.
'We are not here to welcome these people…It's not France's job to deal with the misery of the whole world.'
But he struck a conciliatory note after the scandal surrounding Maria Francesca's burial, writing on Twitter: 'Refusing a child a burial because of its roots is an insult to its memory, an insult to France.'
Tragic: Iliana and Marin Francesca, both kneeling, grieve over the coffin of their ten-week-old daughter as she is laid to rest in a cemetery in Wissous, France, after she was refused a place in a cemetery in their town
