I am quite puzzled by a phenomenon I have seen here.

Just outside Villeneuve, next to the highway and next to the police station on an open piece of ground, a group of strange people arrive to camp there every year. This is not a pretty place, no view, mostly gravel and no facilities - if you know what I mean. Nobody ever camp here. Yet, every summer a group of caravans move in here with very expensive upmarket cars. Mercedes Benz ML AMG's, brand new Range Rovers, Mercedes SL sportscars (brand new), Porsches, etcetera and even a Ferrari. The caravans are large and beige, pretty uniform.

They do not leave here, they just seem to hang about socialising. They all seem to look like part of the same nationality. Darkish skin, dark hair. I have driven in there once out of curiosity, they looked at us as if we were aliens. I even stopped to look around, a little boy came up to me and asked me if we were looking for someone. They seem to wash their clothes here, sit around and talk, they all know each other etc.

Now I am aware of gypsies - are these gypsies? But where in the world would they get the money from to buy these over-the-top expensive cars? Why even have them? Why do they camp in the ugliest spot possible? There are wonderful places around here for camping!

Recently I have been to Scotland, and lo and behold, I saw a similar group there - also camping in a bad spot but with really fancy cars.

Weird...any ideas?

Stay away from them, they bite.

Twilight

Do they sparkle?

If so, then they're probably just Twihards.

Everyone knows real vampyres don't sparkle.

They are Romani people! In French, they are called gents de voyage.

The Romani (also Romany, Romanies, Romanis, Roma or Roms; exonym: Gypsies; Romani: Rromane) are an ethnic group of Europe tracing their origins to medieval India.

The Romani are widely dispersed with their largest concentrated populations in Europe, especially the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe, with more recent diaspora populations in the Americas and, to a lesser extent, in other parts of the world. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people).

Please don't call them gipsies since this is a pejorative noun nobody uses anymore these days. The Romani are famous as tinkerers, they also refurbish old furniture and sell them on flee markets, they are known as tough businessmen. They may not be to your taste, but they have qualities we don't appreciate too much in our societies anymore: The family, the children, the women and music - these are their cultural treasures that they defend heavily.

Ah, ok, they're vampires then.
I am still puzzled by the expensive cars then.

Interesting, thank you about the Romani people.

To be really honest the fancy cars intrigue me. Why have them? How do they afford them? Why take such extravagant cars camping? Why camp in crappy places? (There aren't even ablutions there!).

Yes they are gypsies, they're going on the only place where people let them go. Nobody want to have them in the neighbourhood. It's always little war between the inhabitants and the gypsies.

They have always very bad reputation. Officially they are doing small services, or playing music. But a lot of people think that a lot of them live with stealing things.

Most likely … … don't ask, the answer could be unpleasant … … probably in order to tow their trailers, etc. … … gypsies are usually not welcome on camping grounds – most people don't like to spend their holidays in the neighborhood of gypsies.

Martin

This still doesn't explain the fancy cars! Also, these people don't look like they are "tinkerers, who also refurbish old furniture".
They also walk around with dark capes.




...Ok, no they don't. Added just for dramatic effect.

Because some Vampires can tell the future and know what will happen on the Stock market, and make alot of money

Sounds like yer French version of the tinker.. we have plenty in Ireland. Great brand new 09 cars, mentioning what they "do business" in might get me "whacked" despite living in Switzerland.

The odd time, they have taken to blowing each others brains out on the street, due to drugs and such like, and I suppose one can afford such cars when one is bleeding the social services on a very constant basis etc etc. Oh yes, and they smell... hope I don't get a groan for this, just stating Irish facts... anyone arguing that has never been to their "abode" now shared a classroom with them...

They splurge on weddings... wow, you should see Irish Tinker weddings... Jeeeeeeeeesuss, you'd think Madonna was getting hitched once again.. no expense spared... in fact, think Snatch - the film... something like that in fact....

Haven't seen them in S'land yet, must keep an eye out on my travels

Ferrari, Porsche, Mercedes Benz SL?
I take it you are not really a petrolhead then.

...innocent until proven guilty, etc.

If 'ifs' and 'ands' were pots and pans, there'd be no need for Tinkers...

Most of the travellers in Switzerland call themselves Jenische and you can read some information in German and French about them here:

http://www.radgenossenschaft.ch
http://www.yenisch-suisse.ch

These families don't necessarily travel all year. Swiss authorities treated them in a deplorable way until the 1970s (taking 600 children away from their families - the campaign's name was Kinder der Landstrasse if you want to look it up). Nowadays the relationship between travellers and other Swiss has much improved since then, at least I hope so.

The effort for more campsites is one of their interest group's most important activities.

Hold on to your wallet just kidding

Ran into a group of them from Ireland just over the border in Germany a few years back. They all had brand new mobile homes (with Irish plates) and spoke decent German. They were fairly rude, but seemed harmless.

Nothing new. I remember seeing them already in the 70s in the most remote area like Chesopelloz near Fribourg.
And yes, even then, they were towing their beat up RV caravans with beautiful Mercedes 450SEL 6.9 or RR Silver Shadow.

There was an article in the local press about these Travellers and their expensive cars about four weeks ago.

They're called "Gens du Voyage" in the Romande and they come from the Camargue, 600 kms away in France. They stay for several months a year to work in Switzerland and they have licences to trade issued by the Confederation. It costs them CHF 10 per night to stay there and they're pretty happy with the site you mention even though it's in the middle of a no-man's land. They say they make their money from car dealing, selling carpets and paint, repairing chairs and cleaning houses for up to 12 hours a day.

The police have checked the supercars and all their paperwork is legal. There's speculation that some of them are leased rather than owned outright.

Here's the original article. It's in French but you can slap the url into Googletranslate to get a rough translation.
http://www.24heures.ch/vaud/actu/mys...naz-2009-06-04

I drive past them nearly everyday. Since they're active during daylight they couldn't be Transylvanians!

Don't you know that they use their collective buying power to buy fleets of cars at one third per-car list price? And they can afford it because they don't pay any tax ever.