The mayor of a Paris suburb has been accused of racism after he
refused to allow a Roma baby to be buried in the municipal cemetery.
Christian Leclerc, the mayor of Champlan, about 23km south of Paris, has explained his refusal on the grounds that the cemetery has "few available plots".
"Priority is given to those who pay their local taxes," Leclerc was quoted by Le Parisien daily as saying.
Critics,
however, believe his decision to refuse the nearly 3-month-old girl a
final resting place was motivated by anti-Roma sentiment.
"It's racism, xenophobia, and stigmatisation," said Loic Gandais, president of an association helping Roma families in the region.
Gandais accused Leclerc of hiding behind the fact that the baby, identified only as Maria Francesca, was pronounced dead in another town.
The infant was rushed to hospital on December 26 in the nearby town of Corbeil-Essonnes, where she was declared dead from sudden infant death syndrome.
The parents are Romanians who have lived in France for at least eight years.
Christian Leclerc, the mayor of Champlan, about 23km south of Paris, has explained his refusal on the grounds that the cemetery has "few available plots".
"Priority is given to those who pay their local taxes," Leclerc was quoted by Le Parisien daily as saying.
"It's racism, xenophobia, and stigmatisation," said Loic Gandais, president of an association helping Roma families in the region.
Gandais accused Leclerc of hiding behind the fact that the baby, identified only as Maria Francesca, was pronounced dead in another town.
The infant was rushed to hospital on December 26 in the nearby town of Corbeil-Essonnes, where she was declared dead from sudden infant death syndrome.
The parents are Romanians who have lived in France for at least eight years.
