Paris prosecutors have opened an investigation into dozens of Stars of David daubed on buildings around the city and its suburbs, which have been widely seen as anti-Semitic and threatening Jews, amid the war between Israel and Hamas, reports The Guardian.
The French prime minister Élisabeth Borne condemned “the despicable acts”, saying they will not go unpunished.
Fresh stars were painted on the facades of several buildings in a southern district of Paris, while similar tags appeared over the weekend in suburbs of the city including Vanves, Fontenay-aux-Roses and Aubervilliers.
In the nearby town of Saint-Ouen they were accompanied by inscriptions such as “Palestine will overcome”.
Since the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel, French authorities have registered 857 anti-Semitic acts, interior minister Gérald Darmanin said on Tuesday. “That’s as many acts of antisemitism in three weeks as there have been so far this year,” he said.
Darmanin said police and judicial authorities have opened several investigations into the anti-Jewish graffiti around the capital and vowed to Jewish communities around France that “we will protect you, absolutely, completely, day and night.”