France vows crackdown after surge in anti-Semitic incidents
None
PARIS - France's prime minister on Tuesday described a wave of anti-Semitic acts across the country as disgusting and promised a tough response after government statistics showed a sharp rise in incidents targeting Jews over the last year.
The issue came to the forefront of French politics last weekend after anti-Jewish graffiti appeared in Paris streets and a tree in memory of Ilan Halimi - a young Jew murdered and tortured in 2006 - was cut in two.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on Monday that anti-semitic acts had risen 74 percent in 2018 to 541 from 311 the previous year, including 81 violent ones.
"These acts are disgusting," Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told parliament.
"I share this anger ... in the face of more and more acts, which are targeting people or places, anti-Semitic acts against the memory of Ilan Halimi, anti-Semitic acts against the memory of Simone Veil, slogans placed here and there on this or that sign," he added.
