France will begin expelling Roma in police crackdown
France is to begin deporting Roma (Gypsies) as part of a crackdown on illegal camps in the country.
The 79 Roma who agreed to return home voluntarily will be given 300 euros ($383; £246) and flown back to Romania.
Some 700 Roma will be flown out of France by the end of August, in a move which has been sharply criticised by rights groups.
Romania has also expressed concern over moves that could encourage "xenophobic reactions" in France.
The French government says it plans to shut down 300 illegal Roma camps in the next three months.
The controversial plan, backed by President Nicolas Sarkozy, was put in place after clashes last month between travellers and police in the southern city of Grenoble.
The government says the camps are "sources of illegal trafficking, of profoundly shocking living standards, of exploitation of children for begging, of prostitution and crime".
