Since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, around “a hundred anti-Semitic acts” have been recorded in France according to Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior. They can take several forms but for some, the racist nature remains to be confirmed.
Since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas this Saturday, October 7, “more than a hundred anti-Semitic acts, mainly tags but also more serious acts“were recorded everywhere in France,” reports Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior, on France Inter, Thursday, October 12. France’s first police officer adds that “24 people were arrested“, at this stage.
What anti-Semitic acts are we talking about?
First of all, more than 2,000 reports have been sent since Saturday to the Pharos platform, where it is possible to report illegal online content. Then, several tags were observed throughout the country: on the walls of the University of Poitiers, on the grounds of the Bonnefamille primary school in Isère, or in front of a stadium in Carcassonne in Aude. Other acts were also recorded in Seine-et-Marne, where several shop windows were spray-painted with the cross of David, a Jewish symbol.
Mainly public places were affected. The messages can be death threats, comments advocating terrorism or even insults. The President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, received death threats and security was reinforced outside her home. Behavior condemned by Élisabeth Borne, who declared before the National Assembly on Tuesday October 10: “We will not tolerate any anti-Semitic act or remarks in France.” The Prime Minister also promised, in front of the deputies, “the greatest firmness to all those who would like to use this conflict as a pretext for anti-Semitism.“
The difficulty of determining the anti-Semitic nature of the facts
The anti-Semitic nature of certain facts remains to be confirmed. For example, threatening letters with the word “jude” (“Jew” in German, editor’s note) were sent. The anti-Semitic character is, here, identifiable. For other reports, it is more complicated. Several drones have flown over schools and synagogues since the Hamas attack, according to the Interior Ministry. Franceinfo has identified at least two places where this happened. In one of them, a source close to the matter, however, wants to remain cautious: she speaks of a very brief overview. The anti-Semitic character here is not certain even if the threat is taken seriously by the investigators.
These investigators are facing an unusual influx of reports of anti-Semitic acts: around a hundred over the last five days, or a quarter of all reports last year. The number of anti-Semitic acts had already increased significantly during the last conflict between Hamas and Israel, in 2014. However, the Interior Ministry does not specify how many were recorded during the two months of war.