Sarközi criticises Sarkozy over Roms

“Of course you can’t leave camps without any control and there’s no question of defending delinquency or idleness,” Sarközi told Le Monde newspaper. “But, if these people were offered land where they could live with dignity, that would be a step towards integration. The most important thing, which requires more effort, is educating the young people.”

A former member of Austria’s Socialist Party, Sarközi says that there is no evidence that his family is related to that of the French president, which came from Hungary.

But, he adds, their common family name is typically Rom and some people have in the past hidden their origins to avoid being stigmatised.