Antisemitism in France (archive)
Antisemitism in France (archive)Courtesy

Authorities in Paris are trying to locate a man who was documented wearing a shirt with the words "anti-Jew" on line 13 of the Paris metro.

The President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France, Valérie Pécresse, condemned the incident and said, "I was alerted today about a photo of an individual wearing a jersey with a sinister ‘anti-Jew’ slogan on it in a metro train. We are currently proceeding with RATP (France’s state-owned transport administration) teams to check and identify this individual and to initiate the necessary criminal proceedings. Antisemitism has no place in our country."

The RATP also commented on the incident, writing on social media, "The RATP condemns racism and antisemitism in the strongest possible terms and is making itself available to the police to help identify and arrest any person responsible for this type of act. A complaint will be filed."

France, like many other countries, has experienced a significant rise in antisemitic attacks following Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent military action in Gaza.

Last week, a visibly Jewish teenager was assaulted by two youths as he was leaving a metro station in the suburbs northwest of Paris

Two weeks ago, on the anniversary of October 7, a Jewish woman fell victim to a brutal attack at the entrance to her home in Paris.

She stated that three men attacked her, without provocation on her part. They threatened her with a box knife, uttered antisemitic threats, and even mentioned the events of October 7.

In August, a man verbally assaulted a Jewish family on the metro and shouted, "Hitler was right".

The incident was filmed by a young woman who said she was complaining about the culprit to the police. The clip of the incident was posted on social media and the police said they had launched an investigation.

In July, MK Sharren Haskel revealed that her 88-year-old grandmother was violently attacked in France after she was seen wearing a Star of David necklace.

In June, a 12-year-old Jewish girl was raped in a park in the Paris suburbs. Two 13-year-old boys have been charged with rape and making antisemitic insults.

Before that, vandals painted dozens of blood-red hands on the Wall of the Righteous, a memorial for the French citizens who risked their lives to save Jews during the Second World War, at the Mémorial de la Shoah Holocaust museum in Paris.