Mikael and Laurent hold a banner that alludes to one of the best-known and covered songs by French artist Charles Trenet: “Douce France, je t’aime, ne m’oblige pas à te quitter” (Sweet France, I love you, no force me to leave you). Both are Jews and do not rule out leaving the country where they were born if anti-Semitic acts continue. There are more than 1,100 in just over a month, triple the number of all of last year. “We don’t want this future for our children, the children are afraid to leave the house. When they get on the bus they are afraid to raise their heads, in case they are insulted,” says Mikael, who regrets that France (he paraphrases the song) already ” It’s not the country of my childhood.”
More than fifty cities have held peaceful marches this Sunday against the wave of anti-Semitism in recent weeks. Acts against the Jewish community have spiked after the Hamas attacks on October 7 and the Israeli response.
According to the Prefecture, there have been 185,000 protesters throughout France, about 105,000 in Paris. The country has the largest Jewish community in Europe, but also the Muslim one. These also wanted to be in the street this Sunday to claim “that there is no rupture, we defend the same cause and we have the same enemies, who are the enemies of life,” says a man holding a flag that, he says, represents “to the Berber people and the countries of North Africa.”
The demonstration, attended by political parties and representatives of the Government, has been controversial due to the absence of some and the presence of others. France Insoumise (LFI), the far-left party led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, did not participate and held its parallel march against the war in Gaza on Saturday. Yes, the rest of the leftist formations (socialists, environmentalists and communists) have done so, which shows the isolation of LFI within this bloc.
The controversial presence was that of far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Anti-Semitism is at the origins of her party, founded by her father, Jean Marie Le Pen, who was convicted for it. A legacy that the current opposition leader wants to get rid of in this process of dediabolization of her party: normalize her speech before the French and move away from her most radical positions.
The Council of Representatives of Jewish Institutions (CRIJ) had been against his attendance. “We are where we need to be,” she defended during the march. Hours later, on Twitter (previously X) her party published a photo with this hastag: demonstration against Islamism.
“A party that has had strong links with anti-Semitism is not welcome here today,” says Jean Marie, a member of the Golem collective, which has planned boycott actions against Le Pen’s presence at the march. Some citizens of the Jewish confession do recognize “that change of course.” “He has removed his father from the party and there has been a reconstruction process… If we have carried out a reconciliation process with the Germans, why can’t we do it with a party like Le Pen’s, which rectifies?” Bernard. “As a Jew, I can demonstrate alongside Le Pen, never alongside Mélenchon, they have decided to stay on the sidelines of the Republic,” says Sylvain.
At the head, several members of the Government have paraded in an overcast Paris in a march without incident and silent, only broken by a Marseillaise sung at the beginning and the applause when banners have been taken out in tribute to the hostages and those who died at the hands of Hamas. . In addition to the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, several former presidents attended, such as Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande, and opposition leaders and the presidents of the Assembly and the Senate. More than fifty cities have held similar marches.
The president, Emmanuel Macron, decided not to attend and to be “in thought.” In a letter addressed to the French published by Le Parisien, Macron has asked for unity and that there be no “tolerance towards the intolerable”: “A France in which the Jews are afraid is not France,” said Macron, who regretted ” the unbearable resurgence of rampant anti-Semitism.
“I have thought a lot about whether to come or not,” says Silvie, a journalist. “I did it because I think it was my responsibility to be here today. I don’t think society is divided. I live in a predominantly Muslim neighborhood and it seems to me that part of the wealth of this country is being able to go down to have a couscous and talk to your friends. neighbors, Jews or Muslims. That’s why I came.”
In the last month, 1,150 anti-Semitic acts have been recorded, according to data updated a few days ago by the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin. More than double that of all of last year. In recent weeks, massive demonstrations have also been held in favor of the Palestinian population. On Saturday, several individuals linked to the far-right tried to blow up a conference on Gaza in Lyon.
