France’s Holocaust Memorial Museum, two synagogues and a restaurant in central Paris were vandalized early Saturday with green spray paint, local police told the AFP news agency. A container of green paint was found near the restaurant.
Police on patrol discovered the vandalism, and surveillance footage near the Holocaust museum captured a person dressed in black spraying green paint around 4:30 a.m. local time.
The Tournelle Synagogue in Paris’s 4th arrondissement was vandalized with green paint
(Video: Tamar Sebok)
The incident drew swift condemnation. “I feel deep disgust at these despicable acts targeting the Jewish community,” French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo added, “I strongly condemn these threats. Antisemitism has no place in our city or our country. We will file a complaint.”
The attack comes as French authorities ramp up security around Jewish institutions ahead of the Shavuot holiday, which begins Sunday evening and ends Monday evening. The interior minister cited “ongoing international tensions, particularly in the Middle East,” as grounds for heightened vigilance, especially around religious sites and demonstrations.
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Retailleau noted that more than 60 percent of anti-religious acts in France target Jews, making the Jewish community particularly vulnerable.
France recorded 1,570 antisemitic incidents in 2022 and 1,676 in 2023. While overall incidents are down so far in 2024, physical assaults motivated by antisemitism have risen—from 85 last year to 106 so far this year. In October 2023 alone, 563 antisemitic acts were reported, compared with 157 this past October.
Earlier this year, the Knesset held a hearing on antisemitism in France. According to data presented, 38 percent of French Jews—around 200,000 people—are considering emigration. Approximately 60,000 are eligible to move to Israel immediately. The Jewish Agency reported a 400% increase in aliyah case openings from France since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.