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The Times (London), UK
October 18, 2013 Friday
Paris pupils protest over immigrant expulsion
by Adam Sage
Thousands of pupils blocked their schools and held demonstrations
yesterday in protest at the expulsion from France of a 15-year-old
Roma immigrant (Adam Sage writes).
Pupils placed barriers in front of 20 lycées in Paris to express their
fury over the fate of Leonarda Dibrani, who was sent back to Kosovo
with her mother and five siblings last week.
Their anger was fuelled by the disclosure that a second student,
Khatchik Kachatryan, 19, was returned to Armenia on Saturday.
Up to 7,000 students took part in a protest march outside the offices
of Manuel Valls, the Interior Minister, who has infuriated sections of
the ruling Socialist Party by taking a tough line on immigration.
"Khatchik in France, Valls in Armenia," chanted the protesters, who
threw stones at the police.
In a sign of the Government's nervousness, Jean-Marc Ayrault, the
Prime Minister, hinted that he might allow Leonarda, left, to return.
He said that the Government would "assume its responsibilities"
following an inquiry into her expulsion.
François Baroin, a former Finance Minister, said that Mr Valls would
have no option but to resign if Leonarda came back.
Leonarda was removed from a bus during a school outing and driven to
the airport to join her family, who had been arrested at their home.
The decision to detain her during a school trip provoked indignation
among teachers, who launched the campaign to bring her back to France.
Her family arrived in France in 2009 but failed to obtain asylum.
Reset Dibrani, 47, her father, was returned to Kosovo earlier this
month.
October 18, 2013 Friday
Paris pupils protest over immigrant expulsion
by Adam Sage
Thousands of pupils blocked their schools and held demonstrations
yesterday in protest at the expulsion from France of a 15-year-old
Roma immigrant (Adam Sage writes).
Pupils placed barriers in front of 20 lycées in Paris to express their
fury over the fate of Leonarda Dibrani, who was sent back to Kosovo
with her mother and five siblings last week.
Their anger was fuelled by the disclosure that a second student,
Khatchik Kachatryan, 19, was returned to Armenia on Saturday.
Up to 7,000 students took part in a protest march outside the offices
of Manuel Valls, the Interior Minister, who has infuriated sections of
the ruling Socialist Party by taking a tough line on immigration.
"Khatchik in France, Valls in Armenia," chanted the protesters, who
threw stones at the police.
In a sign of the Government's nervousness, Jean-Marc Ayrault, the
Prime Minister, hinted that he might allow Leonarda, left, to return.
He said that the Government would "assume its responsibilities"
following an inquiry into her expulsion.
François Baroin, a former Finance Minister, said that Mr Valls would
have no option but to resign if Leonarda came back.
Leonarda was removed from a bus during a school outing and driven to
the airport to join her family, who had been arrested at their home.
The decision to detain her during a school trip provoked indignation
among teachers, who launched the campaign to bring her back to France.
Her family arrived in France in 2009 but failed to obtain asylum.
Reset Dibrani, 47, her father, was returned to Kosovo earlier this
month.