The French President Emmanuel Macron has demanded that schools hold a “discussion hour” on the subject of racism and anti-Semitism this week, as France’s extremely fraught social atmosphere before elections was made worse by the rape of a Jewish girl in a Paris suburb.
Three teenagers were arrested for this reason after a 12-year-old girl from Courbevoie confidentially complained to police, who said she had been gang-raped with antisemitic insults.
The inquiry is focused on other offences, including death threats, assault and rape, with religious considerations cited as aggravating circumstances.
Following an attack on southern Israel by Hamas gunmen on October 7 and Israel’s subsequent war against the Islamist group, cases of antisemitism have surged in France.
Macron wasted no time responding following his unexpected decision to call for snap parliamentary elections in France already in the middle of what is to be a three-week campaign period.
On Wednesday, according to the Elysée Palace (the official residence of Macron), the president asked education minister Nicole Belloubet “to organize a discussion in all schools about combating antisemitism and racism aimed at preventing any kind of hate speech with severe impacts from penetrating into our institutions.”
In contrast, their opponents say that both National Rally and France Unbowed party within Popular Front Alliance accept anti-Semitic beliefs among their members though they deny such claims.
National Rally leader Jordan Bardella stated on Wednesday that France needs to tackle an “antisemitic atmosphere” prevailing since Gaza war began.
