The psalmist reminds us this Sunday that in every age the Lord has been our refuge. A growing number of Roma, often labeled gypsies, are struggling to find refuge after being expelled from France, whose campaign of forced expulsions has drawn international criticism.

In face of these objections, President Nicolas Sarkozy and his closest lieutenants are striking an increasingly defiant tone in response to the outcry. Cabinet members now want to expand the list of infractions for which the Roma Gypsy minority can be forcibly expelled from France—and are blaming Romania as the ultimate cause of the controversy engulfing Paris.

On Tuesday, French Secretary of State for European Affairs Pierre Lellouche and Immigration and Integration Minister Eric Besson traveled to Brussels to defend France’s high-profile campaign of dismantling itinerants’ camps and expelling the Roma living in France without residence permits.

They met with European Union (EU) commissioners who have expressed concerns that those efforts may violate human-rights statutes guaranteeing the freedom of movement of EU citizens—a status conferred on all Romanians and Bulgarians during the EU’s 2007 enlargement.

“Nobody should face expulsion just for being Roma,” said Viviane Reding, EU commissioner on human rights. “Some of the rhetoric that has been used in some member states in the past weeks has been openly discriminatory and partly inflammatory.”

Besson refuted allegations that France’s campaign was racially discriminatory in targeting a single minority. He also dismissed claims that Paris was conducting systematic deportation, noting that the authorities assessed the case of each detained Roma individually.

Spurce: Article by Bruce Crumley for TIME