Paris law enforcement announced the defacement of at least 10 Jewish homes and businesses in the French capital, as well as a synagogue and a rabbi’s home in the northern city of Rouen.
Antisemitic graffiti appeared Sunday and Monday on buildings in the Paris suburbs of Vincennes, Saint-Mandé and Fontenay-sous-Bois.
A wall in front of the Rouen synagogue was also defaced with a swastika and the words “Jews pedophiles, rapists to be gassed,” while another wall nearby was tagged with a swastika and the words “Hitler player.” The synagogue had been the target of an attempted arson last May and was previously sprayed with graffiti in December.
“All these attacks are taking place in a context of rising antisemitism in France,” said Natacha Ben Haïm, the president of the Israelite Religious Association of Rouen, who manages the synagogue. “I don’t want to stay quiet. I want this to be known.”
Officials told CNN that the prosecutor’s offices of Rouen and the Paris suburbs have opened investigations into the graffiti.
“The Jewish community represents less than 1% of the population and is the victim of 57% of all anti-religious attacks,” said Bruno Retailleau, the French minister of the interior, in response to the vandalism.
