Gens du voyage (France)

French for "chicken thieves") and subject to various forms of discrimination, the gens du voyage have repeatedly seen their freedom to come and go placed under close police surveillance.

Then, following Louis XIV's ban on private warfare and the King's Declaration against the Bohemians in 1682, which sent them to the galleys[3] and forced them to hide and move around, they found new employment in seasonal services and itinerant trade.

In the 19th century, nomadic populations, now known as "gens du voyage", included families of diverse origins: Manouches, Yenish, but also French peasants living on the road.

Under this law, Travellers (both children and adults) were subject to controls through the presentation of their "anthropometric identity booklets", on which, in addition to photographs (face and profile), fingerprints and even vaccination records appeared.

Olivier Le Mailloux continued the legal battle on behalf of the "Gens du voyage" associations he was defending before the Conseil d'Etat, arguing that the "livrets de circulation" were contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Conseil d'Etat partially agreed with him, declaring the sanctions applicable to all those who did not hold a travel permit or who could not justify possession before the forces of law and order to be contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights.

[9] On October 28, 2016 in Montreuil-Bellay, the French President acknowledged France's responsibility for the internment of gens du voyage during World War II and inaugurated a memorial to the victims.

[13] In March 2003, the law on internal security increased the penalties for illegal land occupation (six months' imprisonment and a 3,750 euro fine, seizure of motor vehicles and suspension of driving license).

In November 2005, the French National Assembly passed the 2006[15] Finance Act making people living in mobile homes liable to property tax.

[22] Most of the reception areas actually built were far from city centers, inaccessible by public transport,[23] or located in potentially dangerous industrial zones, such as the Rouen-Petit Quevilly site just a few meters from the Lubrizol plant, classified as SEVESO high threshold, which suffered a major fire on September 26, 2019.

[24] On this point, the FNASAT (Loris Granal and Gaëlla Loiseau) study on the location of public accommodation and housing for gens du voyage provided essential elements of knowledge and analysis.