By: Fern Sidman

France is facing a troubling surge of antisemitic incidents, triggering widespread alarm within the country’s Jewish community and prompting urgent calls for stronger state intervention. As reported by The Algemeiner on Wednesday, the recent spate of attacks—ranging from physical assaults on Jewish leaders to the desecration of synagogues and schools—has revived fears of a worsening climate of hatred against Jews in France and beyond.

The most high-profile incident occurred on Friday in the coastal town of Deauville, Normandy, where Rabbi Eli Lemel, a respected figure in French Jewry, was brutally assaulted by three men believed to be intoxicated. According to police accounts cited by The Algemeiner, the attackers punched Lemel in the stomach multiple times while hurling antisemitic slurs. The attack took place in broad daylight, around 3:30 p.m., underscoring the increasingly brazen nature of such violence.

French authorities have launched a formal investigation into the incident, though no arrests had been made as of this writing. Rabbi Lemel later posted on social media platform X, saying, “Thank God, I’m okay. I was struck and verbally abused in a language I didn’t understand.” He also urged the Jewish community to remain spiritually resilient in the face of growing hostility.

The attack on Rabbi Lemel is part of a broader pattern of antisemitic aggression spreading across France. Just one day later, a 21-year-old man was arrested in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a town north of Paris, for scaling a synagogue, tearing down an Israeli flag, and attempting to set it ablaze. According to the information provided in The Algemeiner report, the perpetrator—already known to police for prior offenses—confessed to the crime, attributing his actions to intoxication. He now faces multiple charges, including damage to religious property and trespassing at a house of worship.

Local authorities and community leaders expressed deep concern. Sandrine Dos Santos, mayor of the nearby city of Poissy, stated unequivocally: “Faced with the increase in violence, our commitment against discrimination remains unwavering. We repeat it loud and clear: no form of racism or rejection of others has a place in our society.”

Further south, in the vicinity of Antibes, three Serbian nationals were detained after allegedly painting several Jewish buildings in Paris with green paint—a series of coordinated acts currently being investigated as possible foreign interference. The Algemeiner report indicated that the same distinctive green paint was used to deface the Paris Holocaust Memorial, three synagogues, and a Jewish restaurant over the past weekend. The French government condemned the vandalism, but concerns linger about the speed and effectiveness of law enforcement response.

In one of the most disturbing incidents yet, an elementary school in Lyon was set on fire on Monday and vandalized with antisemitic graffiti, pro-Hamas slogans, and swastikas. Although the school has no direct affiliation with the Jewish community, the imagery and rhetoric used raised immediate alarms. Police confirmed the fire—contained to an outdoor bathroom area—caused only minor structural damage, but swastikas and antisemitic messages were also discovered in three classrooms.

Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), condemned the attack in strong terms. “The Palestinian cause is used as justification for burning down a school,” he wrote on X, as cited by The Algemeiner. “The Nazification of Israel serves as fuel for crass antisemitism. When a populist pro-Palestinian narrative is allowed to take hold, it is French Jews who ultimately pay the price.”

This rise in antisemitic incidents comes despite heightened security measures implemented across France following last month’s shooting outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.—an attack that further underscored the global nature of this growing threat. The report in The Algemeiner said that French security services have already increased patrols and surveillance at synagogues, Jewish schools, and community centers nationwide. However, many Jewish leaders argue that these measures are not enough to counter what they describe as an ideological and social shift toward open hatred of Jews.

In Paris, several Jewish organizations have called for a comprehensive government response, including tougher enforcement of hate crime laws, increased penalties for antisemitic acts, and enhanced protection of Jewish institutions. They also urge officials to address the role of radical anti-Israel rhetoric in fueling domestic violence.

Beyond France, The Algemeiner reported that similar patterns of antisemitic attacks are emerging elsewhere in Europe. On Monday, headstones at a Jewish cemetery in a suburb of Belgrade, Serbia, were vandalized in what authorities say is the second such desecration in the past month. These incidents, while geographically dispersed, are widely viewed as part of a growing continental crisis.

The intensification of antisemitism in France is particularly alarming given the country’s painful history, including the Vichy regime’s collaboration with the Nazis and the more recent surge of jihadist attacks targeting French Jews in Toulouse, Paris, and Nice. As The Algemeiner report documented, France is home to Europe’s largest Jewish population—and also one of its most vulnerable.

For many in the community, the current wave of violence feels like a haunting echo of darker times. The Jewish community’s sense of urgency is clear: unless decisive action is taken, the normalization of antisemitic violence could corrode not just the safety of Jews, but the very fabric of French democracy.

As Rabbi Lemel and other leaders continue to call for strength and unity, The Algemeiner report emphasized that the responsibility now lies with French authorities to match their words with actions—and to ensure that hatred does not go unchallenged.