?The European Commission said Wednesday it has decided to take legal actions against France over its expulsion of Roma people.

After assessing overall situation of the Roma, the commission concluded that the right of every EU citizen to free movement within the European Union (EU) is one of the bloc's fundamental principles, said commission spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde.

The commission believed France has not applied EU rules allowing free movement of EU citizens, she said, so it decided to launch legal actions, including sending an official notification letter to France, which could eventually lead to a court case.

France's decision to expulse Roma people in August led to a blazing row between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Union (EU) Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, who compared the expulsions to deportations of Jews during World War II.

Though EU authorities agreed that commissioner Reding' s statement overstepped the mark, European leaders all recognized that the commission, in its role of guardian of the EU treaties, has to examine France' s policy and actions towards Travellers.

Recent developments in France have led to a detailed exchange between the commission and French authorities on the application of EU law on free movement of people.