Emmanuel Macron condemns antisemitic abuse at yellow vest demonstrations in Paris
President calls insults aimed at French-Jewish intellectual ‘absolute negation of who we are’
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Your support makes all the difference.French president Emmanuel Macron has denounced the antisemitic abuse of a prominent intellectual by a group of yellow vest protesters in Paris.
Alain Finkielkraut was insulted by several protesters, with phrases like “dirty Zionists” and “We are in France” aimed towards him. Video of the incident was shown in French.
“The antisemitic insults he has been subjected to are the absolute negation of who we are and what makes us a great nation. We will not tolerate them,” Mr Macron wrote on Twitter.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said said that an investigation into antisemitism at the protest way under way. The probe will look at “public insult based on origin, ethnicity, nationality, race or religion”.
It comes amid growing concerns about the yellow vest movement’s radical fringe. The gilet jaunes demonstrations began in November over fuel taxes but have morphed into a general revolt against a government viewed as out of touch, and includes activists on the left and right.
Mr Finkielkraut told Le Parisien newspaper that he came across a group of protesters and approached them out of curiosity.
He said he heard some of the slurs and insults, including one telling him to throw himself into a canal. He said he does not plan to file a complaint.
A member of the prestigious Academie Francaise, the philosopher had expressed sympathy for the movement in previous interviews, but told French TV channel LCI: “I want one thing, I want to know who they are. What movement do they belong to? That interests me.”
The French government said that antisemitic acts in France rose 74 per cent in 2018 compared with the previous year.
In a separate incident this week, swastikas were sprayed on portraits of the late French politician and holocaust survivor Simone Veil in Paris.
Fourteen French political parties, including Mr Macron’s ruling La Republique En Marche, plan to hold symbolic gatherings against antisemitism across the country later this week.
The increasingly divided yellow vest movement has held protests every Saturday since November 17, but some groups are holding rallies today to celebrate the movement’s three-month birthday.
An online invitation to Sunday’s Paris march said: “Let’s stay peaceful”.
Police fired tear gas and brought in water cannons and a horse brigade to disperse protesters on Saturday. Some threw projectiles and set bins on fire during the 14th straight weekend of protests.
Additional reporting by agencies
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