France President Says Raped Jewish Girl Victim Of ‘Scourge of Antisemitism’

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent

PARIS (Worthy News) – French President Emmanuel Macron warned Wednesday that schools in France are threatened by the “scourge of antisemitism” after a 12-year-old Jewish girl was raped in what police called “a hate crime” amid ongoing attacks against Jewish people.

The girl told police she had been in a park in Courbevoie, north-west of Paris, with a friend last Saturday when three boys – two aged 13 and one aged 12 – approached her. She knew at least one of them.

The victim recalled that the boys dragged her away to an isolated location before hurling antisemitic abuse at her and raping her.

The boys were detained Monday, and two of them were charged with gang rape, antisemitic insults and violence, and issuing death threats.

French leaders across the political spectrum have expressed horror over the brutal attack of a minor, which comes despite security measures ahead of the Paris Olympics next month.

President Emmanuel Macron told ministers Wednesday that a “scourge of anti-Semitism” threatens French schools.

Macron “spoke solemnly and seriously about the scourge of anti-Semitism” in a cabinet meeting and called for a “dialogue” on racism and hatred of Jews in schools, sources familiar with the meeting said.

Mscron stresses it was time to prevent “hateful speech with serious consequences” from “infiltrating” classrooms.

Hatred toward Jews has increased across Europe following the Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7, in which some 1,200 people were killed, prompting the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza.

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