Just too draconian

In July, clashes between the Romas and the police triggered the French government to crackdown on illegal settlements with "Romas as priority" and then to deport them.

There are two problems with this. First, it is an unjustifiable generalisation - the government are stereotyping a whole ethnic group and placing them under one branch. This is a populist, xenophobic measure. If the British government were to round up lawbreakers "with blacks as a priority," there would be a mass uproar. This is exactly what the French government are doing.

Second, it is the wrong way to address the problem. Yes, perhaps, many Romas are involved in crime, prostitution and trafficking - but this is a matter of law and order, not deportation. If they are breaking the law, then just like anyone else in society, the police must deal with it. The approach of the French government is too extreme. Enforcing the law through the police force is a proportionate response that will achieve the same end - making French society a safer place.

Regardless, it is the duty of the French government to look after its fellow EU citizens. Romas in the Bronx in New York are doing so well unlike their European counterparts, who fare the worst on every social index. This is because the American government have helped to educate, and not just shun, the Romas. Education is the long-term, sustainable solution if we are to solve Europe's biggest social problem - and France have a duty to help fulfil that aim.

Instead, Sarkozy has chosen the easy, immoral route that forsakes their moral duty and is too draconian.