Roma exit France momentarily to show crackdown 'absurdity'

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Three Roma facing deportation from France walked 100 metres (yards) into Belgium on Thursday and then returned in order to show the "absurdity" of the crackdown on travellers, their lawyer said, cited by AFP.

"The Roma have executed their deportation order, which now becomes invalid, and can return to French territory in all legality as European citizens," said Antoine Berthe, a specialist in immigration law.

An AFP journalist watched as Berthe’s clients left French territory near the northern town of Armentieres and walked over the border and past a sign saying "Belgium" before returning to France.

Berthe said the brief frontier crossing "aimed to demonstrate the absurdity of French government policy towards Roma."

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