Socialist French mayor wants land for Roma

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LILLE, France, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- France should provide resettlement land for Roma left homeless by the dismantling of their camps in Lille, the town's Socialist Party mayor said.

Mayor Martine Aubry told a news conference she doesn't oppose closing the camps but wants the task carried out with more "dignity," thelocal.fr reported Tuesday.

Aubry said she demanded that the evacuation be followed by relocation to another site outside the urban area "but this has not been done."

The mayor was among those who criticized former French President Nicholas Sarkozy for his plans to dismantle the camps.

That criticism has been cited as a contributing factor to an increase in the number of Roma moving to Lille, in northern France near the border with Belgium.

Aubry said she is working with the government to find land outside the city for the Roma.