An Irish citizen who threatened to shoot a Jewish tourist and allegedly told her and her husband that he wished Adolf Hitler had "finished the job" has received a six-month suspended prison sentence in France, prompting criticism from Jewish organizations over what they described as an excessively lenient punishment.
Patrick O'Brien, 60, was convicted by a criminal court in the southern French city of Avignon of making death threats and glorifying crimes against humanity following an antisemitic confrontation with an Australian Jewish couple at a supermarket.
Antisemitic confrontation at a supermarket in southern France
The incident took place on August 11 at a hypermarket in Le Pontet, near Avignon. According to the couple's testimony, the encounter began with a casual conversation about the French national soccer team jersey the husband was wearing, before shifting to Ireland's position toward Israel.
During the exchange, O'Brien allegedly told the couple, "I'm sorry Hitler didn't finish the job."
When the woman began recording the confrontation on her phone, O'Brien threatened her, saying, "I'll put a bullet in your head," as seen in footage that subsequently circulated widely on social media.
According to reports, the woman's father survived the Holocaust, while other members of her family were murdered at the Auschwitz extermination camp.
Patrick O'Brien
(Photo: X)
The video went viral and prompted condemnation from French government ministers Serge Papin and Aurore Bergé, who strongly denounced the antisemitic threats.
O'Brien was arrested in Avignon on August 26 and subsequently prosecuted.
Avignon prosecutor Stéphanie Aouine said O'Brien admitted the facts of the incident but claimed his remarks had been made in anger and that he regretted what he had said.
Jewish organizations criticized the suspended sentence, arguing that the punishment failed to reflect the gravity of the antisemitic threats directed at the tourists.
The ruling has renewed concerns among Jewish organizations about the consequences faced by individuals convicted of antisemitic threats, particularly in cases involving explicit references to the Holocaust and threats of deadly violence.