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A union representing bus drivers in Montpellier, southern France, has sparked outrage after it proposed the creation of a separate bus service for Roma people following complaints about the “unbearable” smell.

The idea was put initially forward by Dominique Granier, a member of the local Force Ouvriere (FO) union in the city in an article in the local Gazette de Montpellier newspaper dated April 2nd.

Describing the smell as “unbearable”, Granier said community’s use of the transport service constituted a “sanitary risk”.

His proposal concerns the number 9 bus route that connects the city centre with the Roma camp in the Grammont district.

The proposed bus service now has the backing of the city’s transport authority, the TaM (Transport for the Urban Area of Montpellier), according to Libération.

“The management has decided to follow the union by removing part of this bus line that is very popular with Roma people and to outsource this part of the line,” Bernard Gotis, a representative for the CGT union who is opposed to the proposal, told Libération.

According to the CGT union, FO union representatives for the transport authority withdrew many of their buses from the bus route last month in protest against the smell.

They also complained to the authority’s Committee for Hygiene, Security and Working Conditions (CHSCT) which then inspected the buses.

However the proposal has been strongly criticized.