“Despicable actions”: Borne condemns anti-Semitic acts with “absolute firmness”

2023-10-31 17:29:25

She won’t let anything go. Faced with the increase in anti-Semitic acts since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Élisabeth Borne on Tuesday condemned “with the greatest firmness” these “despicable actions”. Since October 7, “more than 850 incidents have taken place and nearly 6,000 online reports have been made,” said the Prime Minister during the government question session at the National Assembly, reporting “more than 430 arrests and more than 230 ongoing investigations.”

This is particularly the case in Paris, where the public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation after the discovery of Stars of David painted on building facades, as well as in Petit-Quevilly (Seine-Maritime) where the mayor filed a complaint due to “anti-Semitic” tags – including swastikas, insults against Jews, the State of Israel and threats directly targeting the elected official.

“Nothing can be tolerated”

“In the name of the government, I condemn with absolute firmness these despicable actions”, reacted Élisabeth Borne, affirming that “to attack someone because they are Jewish (…) is to attack the very soul of the Republic. “It is the duty of the Republic to protect all the Jews of France,” she insisted, affirming that “all those who are guilty of these acts must be arrested and condemned” and that “nothing can be tolerated, justified or excused.”

Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti announced on Sunday that more than 400 people had been arrested in France for “anti-Semitic acts” since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. The Minister of Justice did not detail the nature of these acts, but indicated that “firm prison sentences were imposed”. We must “react firmly and quickly to acts that have no place in our country,” he said.