Roma baby buried in France after racism row

The dead baby of a Roma family at the centre of a huge racism row in France was finally laid to rest today with just close family present.
The tiny white coffin was buried in a cemetery in Wissous south of Paris after a religious ceremony attended by 100 or so people, including representatives from the Roma community.
The tragic death of the two-and-a-half-month-old baby hit the headlines over the weekend after the local town refused them a burial plot, with the mayor reportedly saying priority should be given to taxpayers.
The mayor, Christian Leclerc, has since strenuously denied this, saying he had been a victim of a misunderstanding.

With fury mounting and even the prime minister describing the refusal as an "insult" to France, Leclerc offered his condolences to the family and said they could bury the baby in his town of Champlan.
However, the family refused his offer.

According to Csilla Ducrocq, a member of the ASEFRR association that helps Roma, the mother "says that her heart has been ripped out" by the baby's death.
"But she has nothing to say about the mayor. Just that she doesn't understand," Ducrocq said.
Others, however, have had plenty to say, with Leclerc accused of racism and the case highlighting France's tense relationship with the Roma, most of whom come from Eastern Europe.

The Roma, a nomadic people whose ancestors left India centuries ago, have long suffered from discrimination and are frequently accused of carrying out petty crimes.
The European Union believes there are currently 10 to 12 million Roma throughout Europe, which makes them the largest minority on the continent.
The burial row came as it emerged that another two-month-old Roma baby died in a shack near the train station of the northern city Lille amid freezing temperatures on Thursday.