A number of Roma, expelled from France under a controversial crackdown launched by President Nicolas Sarkozy's government, have begun arriving back in Romania.
Dozens of men, women and children left a plane that landed at Bucharest's Aurel Vlaicu airport in the early afternoon, carrying sacks, prams and other baggage.
A planeload of around 60 Roma who agreed to a 'voluntary return procedure' left Lyon airport in what was the first expulsion since Mr Sarkozy last month vowed action against Roma, Gypsy and Traveller communities.
A total 93 Roma were to be flown today, with flights to Bucharest and the western city of Timisoara due to take hundreds more tomorrow and 26 August, with each adult granted €300 and each minor granted €100.
Representatives from various state institutions, including the child protection office, the national agency for Roma and the police, would be on hand when they arrived.
There are between 10-12m Roma in Europe, according to official European estimates.
The Roma community in Romania numbers 530,000 according to the national census or 2.5 million according to non-governmental organisations, who say that some do not declare themselves as Roma, fearing discrimination.
