The exact number of Romani people in France is unknown; estimates vary from 500,000 to 1,200,000[clarification needed].
[3] The Romani people originated in Northern India,[4][5][6][7][8] presumably from the northwestern Indian states Rajasthan and Punjab.
[10] Genetic findings in 2012 suggest the Romani originated in northwestern India and migrated as a group.
On 12 April, a chartered flight carrying 160 Romani left northern France for Timișoara.
[19] On 9 August, the city of Marseille in southern France forcibly evicted 100 Romani people from a makeshift camp near Porte d'Aix, giving them 24 hours to leave.
[20] A chartered flight carrying approximately 150 Romani to Romania left the Lyon area on 20 September.
[22] As of 2012, France sent about 8,000 Romani to Romania and Bulgaria in 2011, after dismantling camps where they were living on the outskirts of cities.
[25] Rumors and fake news stories of a white van occupied by Romani attempting to abduct children or young women have spread across the French internet on multiple occasions.