Paris calls in Romanian police to tackle 'delinquents'
The Paris police chief said on Tuesday the city will be calling in 30 Romanian police officers to carry out joint patrols in a bid to tackle a "delinquency" problem blamed on Romanian nationals.
"We will soon have the reinforcement of 30 Romanian police officers who will carry out mixed patrols," Paris police prefect Michel Gaudin said, adding that the officers would arrive near the end of November.
"We have absolutely nothing against Romanians, but this delinquency is a reality," he said.
He said eight Romanian police officers were already working with Paris police on investigations.
French authorities have repeatedly accused members of the Roma minority who have flocked to France from Romania and Bulgaria of being responsible for a rise in petty crimes.
A total of 9,800 Romanian citizens were detained in Paris between January and the end of October, police said, up from 7,465 in all of 2010.
A police study released in July said "delinquency generated by Romanian nationals" in Paris and the surrounding region was up 72 percent in the first half of 2011.
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