In every country, there exists a group of individuals who are forced, for complex reasons, to live a life of difficulty and partial exclusion from the mainstream society. These individuals lack the necessary tools, abilities, and opportunities to integrate into mainstream society. The Roma are the largest minority group in Europe, between 10-12 million and make up a large majority of this unintegrated population in many countries. Many negative stereotypes exist concerning the Roma and are often used as excuses for the lack of integration. In certain countries, especially in Eastern Europe, the Roma face violent discrimination due to many of these long held stereotypes and are searching for a better life and opportunities in Western Europe. However, the actual reasons are not as simplistic. There are many complex reasons but the main issues are due to socio-economic disparities, a lack of education and certain cultural differences.

However, while examining the lack of integration of the Roma, a discrepancy between the concepts of discrimination and oppression, addressed in Paolo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, and the findings from field work. Focusing on the Roma living in France, in particular, a camp located in the suburbs of Paris, the field work discovered that the Roma do not feel discriminated against or intentionally excluded. This thesis hypothesizes that the Roma in France are currently so unintegrated that they cannot yet understand, conceptualize or feel discriminated against. Their perception of discrimination is related more to violence due to the vastly more severe discrimination they faced in their countries of origin. Now as the Roma become increasingly integrated, will their perception of discrimination begin to change? The situation facing the Roma in France could potentially have an effect on not only other nations with Roma populations, but any nation with an unintegrated population.

Key Words: Roma – Discrimination – Oppression – Integration – France – Triel sur Seine