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Mayor torches gypsy camp
15/05/2006 20:10 - (SA)
Strasbourg - A French mayor was handed a six-month suspended jail sentence on Monday for setting fire to an illegal gypsy camp on the outskirts of Ensisheim, a small town in eastern Alsace.
In January, Michel Habig ordered his staff to burn down the 14-caravan camp, deserted by its inhabitants, himself throwing a flaming rag into the heart of what he described as a "veritable shantytown".
The case sparked fierce controversy - with local residents voicing support for the mayor's radical action - while French anti-racism and gypsy-protection groups joined the civil lawsuit against him.
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