PARIS – This fall, instances of child begging have become increasingly visible in the French capital.
“We have noticed that there are more and more Roma women with underage children wandering in the streets of Paris,” said a police source. “This is happening because they know we don’t have the power to do much about it. It may also be happening because more and more Roma women are giving birth in France.”
Authorities seemed resolute to take actions to curb this phenomenon.
Since August, numerous arrests of Roma women have occurred, many in the northeastern region of Seine-Saint-Denis, a site of numerous Roma encampments.
In these cases, police cited an obscure offense— “the deprivation of care.” A clause in a domestic security law passed in France on March 18, 2003 states “the act of keeping a child younger than 6 years of age in any public place to solicit the generosity of passersby” is punishable by up to 7 years in prison and a fine of 100,000 euros.
A wave of arrests for “deprivation of care” took place shortly after the law was passed. However, upon reaching the courts, the cases were closed without further action. As a result, the “deprivation of care” arrests all but ceased. That is, until two months ago. The reappearance of this charge was met with general surprise.
“We are wondering why this clause has reappeared now,” said Damien Nantes, director of the association Hors La Rue, which cares for at-risk foreign minors in Paris. “What is the goal? To scare people? Well, it worked. Families are terrified.
“We agree that a child doesn’t belong in the streets. But to brutally take them from their mothers— especially as it often involves nursing infants who are suddenly and brutally weaned— doesn’t seem like a good solution to us.”
The courts still share this opinion; last week, the tribunal of Bobigny acquitted a Roma woman who police had cited for begging with her child of 22 months. As the still-nursing child was not dehydrated at the time of the arrest, the court found that the charge of “deprivation of care” was not justified.
Police Reaction
Police have difficulty understanding the court’s opinion.
“The phenomenon is not easy to stop,” said one officer. “There is little recourse for these children. If the ‘deprivation of care’ route doesn’t work, our field of action is severely limited.”
Another difficulty: the children in the streets of Paris are sometimes thousands of miles from their biological parents.
“Their parents were repatriated to Romania and the children are left here alone in the care of the family or the clan, who exploit them by making them beg,” the officer continued. “There are others who were sent to France to make money by parents who stayed in Romania. This is sometimes the case for young disabled children. Clan chiefs pick them out while still in Romania. They know very well that these children provoke the generosity of passersby.”
A New Angle of Attack
Police are now seeking another angle of attack.
“We have no intention of abandoning these children. If the ‘deprivation of care’ clause doesn’t work, we will find another way,” said one police source.
According to our information, police intend to begin making arrests for “provocation of child begging.” This offense also exists in the French penal code (article 227-20), but is rarely applied because of the complexity of proving the infraction. Still, it is a way to directly implicate the exploiters themselves (parents, but also clan leaders.) If condemned, those responsible would earn sentences of three years in prison, or five years for aggravated accounts.
When asked about the new charge used by Paris police, the association Hors La Rue wanted people to remember that the majority of Roma families who beg are simply trying to survive.
“To actually help these families, we must first work to end their extreme poverty,” explains the association.
The Roma still do not have the right to work in France.
