Paris, 19 May 2024

On 6 May, the Honoured Guest of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF) annual dinner was the new young Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal.

PM Attal’s speech spanned from his Jewish grandmother’s hiding from the Nazi death trains from Drancy to Auschwitz, up to today’s danger of Islamist extremism.

At that dinner, Dr Shimon Samuels, Emeritus Director for International Relations of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, had expressed hope that the new Government would take harder measures against antisemitism.

This, in particular, was in reference to court cases of attacks and even the murder of Jews, that had been closed by the judges on the grounds that the perpetrators were intoxicated by cannabis, rather than indoctrinated by antisemitic hatred.

On one occasion, the police waited outside an apartment door – behind which the murderer was roaring “Allahu Akbar!” while tormenting a terrified elderly victim – claiming they had no authority to break in... Those days are over!

This week, in Rouen, a young man attempted to burn down a synagogue. He had climbed a wall and thrown a Molotov cocktail through a window. Luckily, very few were present inside, among whom the Rabbi’s wife, who managed to evacuate and call for help.

The perpetrator, apparently an Algerian national, made a rush brandishing a knife against a policeman, who shot him dead.

Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin, with whom Samuels had also talked, said that the attacker had been denied a residency permit and had been notified with an Obligation to Leave France (OQTF). The notification had been suspended, pending appeal through an Administrative Court.

“This time, the police force’s response neutralized the threat and avoided a possible catastrophe. The 300% rise of antisemitic incidents in France during the first trimester of 2024 means that more attacks are to be expected and countered with decisive action,” concluded Samuels.

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Free the hostages!

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