A 70-year-old Jewish man was assaulted on the street in the southern French town of Anduze on Wednesday, in what local authorities are treating as a clearly antisemitic attack. Police arrested a 45-year-old suspect at the scene, who reportedly shouted „Dirty Jew” before physically striking the victim, reports Jewish News Syndicate.
The assailant, described by witnesses as intoxicated at the time, remains in custody pending his court appearance on Monday. Local residents assisted the victim, a long-time member of the Anduze community, following the incident. He has since received medical care and filed a formal complaint with police.
Mayor Geneviève Blanc condemned the attack as a „clearly antisemitic assault,” while also linking it to broader societal hatred, including anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiments. „This attacker reflects something of the atmosphere in our society, which stigmatises Jews, Muslims and foreigners,” she said in a public statement.
However, critics argue that Blanc’s party, the Ecologists, has itself fuelled antisemitic sentiment. Earlier this year, the party published a controversial statement accusing Israel of carrying out „15 months of massacres” in Gaza and called for European Union sanctions against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Jewish groups say such rhetoric risks inciting further hostility against Jews in France.
The attack in Anduze comes amid a troubling rise in antisemitic violence across France. In 2023, the SPCJ (Service de Protection de la Communauté Juive) recorded 106 physical assaults on Jews—the highest number in over a decade. The BNVCA (Bureau national de vigilance contre l’antisémitisme) reports that most antisemitic acts in France are committed by individuals from Muslim-majority backgrounds.
Overall, 1,570 antisemitic incidents were recorded last year in France—a slight decrease from 1,676 in 2022, but still nearly triple the average for the preceding decade. The Hamas-led atrocities of 7 October 2023 have further fuelled antisemitic attacks across Europe. French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed that over 1,000 antisemitic acts occurred in France in the month following the massacre.
Jewish community leaders continue to call for stronger measures to combat antisemitism and ensure the safety of France’s Jewish population. As one resident of Anduze put it, „If someone can be attacked for being a Jew on a quiet street here, it shows how urgent this crisis really is.”
Photo credit: Szeder László via Wikimedia Commons
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