YouTuber gives glimpse into the huge evangelical gathering of ‘Tziganes’ in France

The annual festival of Roma evangelicals in France is now a long-standing tradition, although rarely has it been possible to experience it as closely as this year.

Around 40,000 people gathered with their roulottes (caravans or converted trailers) in Gien, in the Louret region.

Evangelical Focus has reported on previous editions of a gathering organised by the evangelical denomination Vie et Lumière (Life and Light), which has some 130,000 evangelicals from more than 220 churches in France.

The gathering of unity and worship has in previous years raised complaints from neighbours in the area of the celebration due to the large crowds and traffic.

Four days ago, Charlotte Vautier, an independent journalist on YouTube, published a 30-minute report in which she recounts her first-hand visit to the rally and the conversations she had with people from the four Roma communities present at the site: the Roma, the Yeniches, the Manouches, and the Gitans, as well as visitors from the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The YouTuber explains in the report that she spent a whole day at the camp to get a first-hand look at the atmosphere, to “see behind the prejudices”.

While some preferred not to appear on camera for fear of negative reactions, others invited her to visit their mobile homes or share a meal to speak about culture and faith. ‘It was only at the end of the day that I understood why, here, faith is not just a belief: it is a powerful bond between communities that have long been divided and rejected by society,’ she writes in the description of her video.

The Youtube report has attracted a lot of interest, with 375,000 views in just four days. Among those praising the video  were leders of other evangelical organisations in France. 

Vie et Lumière is an evangelical denomination that has belonged to the Protestant Federation of France (FPF), a representative body before the state, since 1975.