French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal spoke of “366 anti-Semitic acts” recorded in the country in the first quarter of 2024 (archives).
Photo: KEYSTONE/EPA/VALERY HACHE / POOL
The French government announced on Monday ‘a 300% increase’ in anti-Semitic acts in France in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period of 2023. It speaks of a ‘surge’.
‘No one can deny this anti-Semitic surge,’ declared the head of government, Gabriel Attal, in a speech at the 38th dinner of the Crif (Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France) in Paris.
‘No one can deny the fact that it is estimated that French Jews represent 1% of the French population, but that more than 60% of anti-religious acts are anti-Semitic acts,’ he added. He mentioned ‘366 anti-Semitic incidents’ recorded in France in the first quarter of 2024.
Faced with this increase, ‘no act should go unpunished, no anti-Semite should have peace of mind’, affirmed the Prime Minister, promising to ‘demonstrate exemplary firmness in every act’.
Deploring that it is not possible, in French law, to know precisely the number and convictions for acts committed because of religion, he announced that he had asked the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, ‘to find the means to implement a census of these cases and these convictions throughout France.
‘Islamism is a serious danger for our Republic and one of the most dangerous, most destructive faces of anti-Semitism,’ he also said, promising to ‘tackle Islamism and separatism head-on. ‘.
/ATS
