"France is not an anti-Semitic country," French President Jacques Chirac declared last night. Meeting with a group of French-Jewish leaders, he promised that an independent body would soon be established to deal with all forms of anti-Jewish attacks. "When a Jewish child is forced to change schools in order to avoid being cursed and threatened," Chirac said, "France is the one that is humiliated." He added that he would ensure that the Holocaust and its lessons would continue to be taught in French schools.
A recent national report on hate crimes in France showed that they quadrupled in 2002, with over half the attacks aimed at Jews. The outbreak of the Oslo War in late 2000 sparked a wave of anti-Semitic incidents worldwide, with Europe's largest number of anti-Semitic attacks occurring in France: 1,300 recorded since 2001 - the highest level since World War II, according to the Wiesenthal Center.
A recent national report on hate crimes in France showed that they quadrupled in 2002, with over half the attacks aimed at Jews. The outbreak of the Oslo War in late 2000 sparked a wave of anti-Semitic incidents worldwide, with Europe's largest number of anti-Semitic attacks occurring in France: 1,300 recorded since 2001 - the highest level since World War II, according to the Wiesenthal Center.