The number of antisemitic incidents recorded in France in 2024 is projected to approach the figure from the previous year, which had already seen a significant rise, stated Aurore Bergé, the Minister for the Fight Against Discrimination. She expressed the desire for incidents occurring at “universities and higher education institutions” to be included in the statistics.
“The rise in antisemitic incidents is quite dramatic (…). Based on the data I have as of 30 November, nearly 1,500 antisemitic acts have been recorded,” she said on Sunday in an interview with Europe 1/Les Échos/CNews, noting that the Interior Ministry would release the full figures for 2024.
According to Aurore Bergé, “Most of these incidents are not merely insults but involve direct attacks on individuals, either because they are Jewish or are perceived to be Jewish.” Her office reports that personal attacks account for 63% of the recorded cases.
In 2023, data from the CRIF (Conseil représentatif des institutions juives de France), published in January 2024, revealed that the number of recorded antisemitic acts had quadrupled within a year, with 1,676 incidents.
“Today, simply defending clear, republican positions, or reminding people that the events of 7 October were first and foremost terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas, or simply supporting the families of hostages (…) makes you a potential target of antisemitic attacks,” the minister remarked.
Aurore Bergé confirmed the revival of the antisemitism summits, which were initiated in May last year. The next meeting is scheduled for “13 February, marking the anniversary of Ilan Halimi’s death” in 2006, her ministry confirmed.
She identified universities as a “priority area,” citing “absolutely intolerable and unacceptable incidents” such as “insults” and “attempts at intimidation” occurring “almost daily in universities or elite institutions.” She emphasised the importance of recording such incidents.
Referring to students “prevented from attending classes” or “hearing unbearable slogans chanted nearby,” as well as the “feeling of absolute isolation,” Bergé criticised the “lack of courage” among other students.
Lamenting that “after the horrific attacks of 7 October, instead of a wave of solidarity, we witnessed a wave of antisemitism,” she argued that “a target has effectively been placed on the back of every French Jew today, as they are unfairly associated with specific events.”
