Speaking at the annual dinner of Crif—France’s umbrella body for Jewish institutions—Prime Minister François Bayrou delivered a forceful condemnation of what he called the “delirious, murderous beast” of antisemitism. Bayrou detailed the long history of attacks on Jews and warned that the threat had evolved from its traditional sources, reports European Jewish Press.
“The beast surprises us all the more because it has changed shape… the monster has grown other heads,” he said, identifying radical Islamism as a modern driver of antisemitism, rather than solely the far-right.
Bayrou referenced the 7 October Hamas pogrom in Israel, insisting that regional peace remains impossible unless “Israel is recognised by its neighbours and protected from the nuclear fire of those who have never ceased to proclaim their sole obsession and intention to destroy it.”
He reaffirmed France’s “unfailing friendship” with Israel, warning against complacency in the face of rising antisemitism.
Yonathan Arfi, recently re-elected as President of Crif, delivered a powerful address calling for national unity in combating antisemitism.
“For violence to stop, it’s not enough to deplore it; you have to know how to fight,” he declared.
Tracing a disturbing evolution in antisemitic rhetoric, Arfi observed, “40 years ago, we were called ‘dirty Jews’; 20 years ago, ‘dirty Zionists’; today, ‘genocidaires’.”
He warned of efforts to “Nazify” the Jewish state, claiming this is done to relieve European guilt over the Holocaust.
Arfi defended Israel’s cause in its war against Hamas and its campaign to dismantle Iran’s nuclear threat, stating, “Israel’s cause is just, in this war it has not chosen.”
He also criticised far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon for minimising antisemitism and using Gaza as a political slogan. Arfi pledged to curb the influence of La France Insoumise (LFI), referencing Mélenchon’s dismissal of French antisemitism as merely “residual.”
On the same day, the French Interior Ministry released updated figures showing 504 antisemitic incidents in the first half of 2025—a 24% drop from the previous year but a 134% increase compared to 2023.
Arfi ended his speech by framing the fight against antisemitism as a unifying cause for all French citizens: “Fighting antisemitism means bringing together all French people.”
He called for stronger secularism, justice against online hate, and the strengthening of France’s republican school system.
Photo credit: Bertrand GUAY / AFP
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