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Macron condemns antisemitic abuse during gilets jaunes Paris protest Macron condemns antisemitic abuse during gilets jaunes Paris protest
(about 7 hours later)
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has condemned antisemitic abuse of a leading intellectual by gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protesters and said it would not be tolerated. French officials have strongly condemned anti-Semitic abuse and anti-police attacks by some gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protesters as hundreds gathered in central Paris to mark the third month of the anti-government protests.
Police intervened to protect philosopher and writer Alain Finkielkraut after he was targeted by a group of protesters on the fringe of a demonstration in central Paris on Saturday, according to videos posted on social networks. Prosecutors have launched an investigation into a group of protesters who shouted anti-Semitic insults at philosopher and writer Alain Finkielkraut during demonstrations in the capital on Saturday.
“The antisemitic insults he has been subjected to are the absolute negation of what we are and what makes us a great nation. We will not tolerate it,” Macron tweeted.
“The son of Polish immigrants who became a French academician, Alain Finkielkraut is not only a prominent man of letters but the symbol of what the Republic allows everyone,” the president added in another tweet.
Antisemitism rising sharply across Europe, latest figures showAntisemitism rising sharply across Europe, latest figures show
Several protesters shouted “dirty Zionist”, “we are the people” and “France is ours”, according to a video broadcast by Yahoo! News. In a separate incident, a police car stuck in a traffic jam in Lyon, southeastern France, was stoned by demonstrators.
“I felt absolute hatred and, unfortunately, this is not the first time,” Finkielkraut, 69, told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper. “I would have been afraid if there had not been the police, fortunately they were there.” He added that not all the demonstrators were hostile towards him and one even suggested he put on a vest and join the demonstration while another hailed his work. President Emmanuel Macron condemned the abuse directed at Finkielkraut, tweeting: “The anti-Semitic insults he has been subjected to are the absolute negation of what we are and what makes us a great nation. We will not tolerate it.”
Finkielkraut has expressed his solidarity and sympathy with the gilets jaunes protesters from the outset but in an interview published on Saturday in Le Figaro, he criticised the leaders of the movement, saying that “arrogance has changed sides”. “The son of Polish immigrants who became a French academician […] is not only a prominent man of letters but the symbol of what the Republic allows everyone,” the president added in another tweet.
Saturday’s incident triggered a wave of condemnation and messages of support for the philosopher. The abuse - including protesters shouting “Dirty Zionist” and “France is ours” - was caught on video and broadcast on television and social media.
The interior minister, Christophe Castaner, said it was “simply intolerable”, while the leader of the Republicans opposition party, Laurent Wauquiez, denounced the “abject idiots”. The stoning incident in Lyon was also captured on video, with footage filmed from inside the police car showing dozens of protesters throwing stones at the vehicle.
Ian Brossat, the chief French Communist party candidate for the European parliament, said: “We can hate Finkielkraut’s ideas”, but “nothing can justify attacking him as a Jew”. “We’re under attack and being stoned,” reported a policeman.
Demonstrating for the 14th consecutive weekend, just over 41,000 gilets jaunes protesters turned out across the country on Saturday. The protests began three months ago over fuel taxes, but quickly grew into a broader anti-government rebellion fuelled by hatred of Macron, with some using antisemitic tropes to refer to his former job as an investment banker. The interior minister, Christophe Castaner, described the actions of the protesters as “intolerable”.
Finkielkraut, who is seen as having pro-establishment beliefs, has since January 2016 been a member of the French Academy, the prestigious institution in charge of defining the French language. Finkielkraut, who had voiced support for the “yellow vest” movement before later criticising it, denounced the protests as “grotesque”
A recent spate of antisemitic vandalism and graffiti in and around Paris has stoked fresh concerns about an increase in hate crime against Jews. “I felt absolute hatred and, unfortunately, this is not the first time,” Finkielkraut told Journal du Dimanche.
Fourteen political parties on Thursday launched a call for action against antisemitism after the interior ministry reported a 74% increase in anti-Jewish acts last year. “I no longer back these demonstrations, it’s becoming grotesque, it’s a movement that no longer knows how to stop,” he said.
The incident has rekindled claims by Macron that recent acts of anti-Semitic vandalism, including the painting of Nazi swastikas over portraits of famed French holocaust survivor Simone Veil, was the work of far-left and far-right activists within the gilets jaunes movement.
The vandalism came amid reports of rising anti-Jewish offences - up 74 percent last year according to police - which have caused alarm.
Fourteen political parties have called on people to demonstrate on Tuesday against anti-Semitism.
The gilets jaunes protests, which have no organised leadership, began three months ago on 17 November over increasing fuel taxes.
They quickly grew into a broader anti-government rebellion fuelled by anger towards Macron.
Some 41,500 people took the streets on Saturday, according to police, the 14th consecutive Saturday of protests across the country.
There were clashes and arrests in several cities but the level of violence and number of demonstrators were down on the previous weekend.
On Sunday, hundreds of protesters marched on the famous Champs-Elysees avenue, this time to mark the anniversary of the start of the movement.
FranceFrance
ParisParis
AntisemitismAntisemitism
Emmanuel MacronEmmanuel Macron
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