Hundreds of Jewish graves in eastern France were kicked over and painted with red Nazi swastikas on Sunday, the latest in the country’s growing number of anti-Semitic attacks.
About 300 tombs were desecrated in one of France’s largest Jewish cemataries in the eastern town of Sarre-Union. A teenage male has confessed to the crime and has been taken into custody along with four other males aged 15 to 17. The youths could face up to seven years in prison under French law, according to officials.
French officials swiftly condemned the attack, with President Francois Hollande calling the incident “odious and barbaric.” Prime Minister Manuel Valls called for France to unite against “Islamo-fascism” and asked Jews to stay in France, although many have been moving to Israel amid security concerns.
“France is injured as you are and France doesn’t want you to leave,” Valls told French radio. “France once again expresses its love for you, its support and solidarity.”
France has heightened security at Jewish schools, places of worship and other institutions in the face of mounting violence. A gunman killed four Jews in a kosher grocery story in Paris in January as part of a three-day series of attacks in which 17 people were killed.
