Romanian Worker in France

Having grown up in travailleur roumain en france, a town south central Romania well known for its wealthy Roma involved in organised crime, D.D. (name changed) migrated to France with his family when he was about 10 years old. He now works in a construction company and sends money back to his wife, children and parents every month.

Aside from occasional returns to Romania for holidays, he is content with his life in France. He sends some of his salary back home to invest, and hopes that a hypothetical definitive return will one day happen. But he is aware that, in Europe, whenever people hear the word ‘Romanian’ they think “thief” and “criminal”.

“Legal Framework and Challenges: Rights of Romanian Workers in France

Like a lot of other Romanians living in France, he was happy to see that French government officials are currently discussing the possibility to lift working restrictions for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals, in an effort to help them integrate. This is a much needed step to combat the stigma and stereotypes associated with these communities, which has led to the dismantling of camps in several cities throughout the country in recent weeks.

Although the crimmigration logic contributes to this practice of policing mobile EU citizens, I document state mechanisms of de-criminalization for deportation in order to highlight their contribution to the implementation surplus. I also explore how state agents – police officers, the courts and administrative bodies – actively contribute to this deportation apparatus by putting these groups of migrants (Romanians in particular) into deportation procedures instead of building a judicial case against them.