French President Emmanuel Macron has said that schools in France are being threatened by the “scourge of antisemitism” after a 12-year-old Jewish girl was raped in what police said was a hate crime.
According to French media, 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 said the boys dragged her away to an isolated location before hurling antisemitic abuse at her and raping her.
The boys were arrested and two of them were charged with gang rape, antisemitic insults and violence, and issuing death threats.
French media also reported that one of the attackers threatened to kill the girl if she went to the police.
Mr Macron talked about the Courbevoie attack during a Council of Ministers meeting on Wednesday, where he meets with the members of his government.
He asked the Minister of Education, Nicole Belloubet, to ensure that over the next few days schools hold a dialogue on the topics of racism and hatred of Jews to prevent “hateful speech with serious consequences” from “infiltrating” classrooms.
Ms Belloubet later wrote on X: “There is no limit to horror… Rape, antisemitism: every part of this crime is revolting.”
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal called the attack “absolutely despicable, unbearable and unspeakable”.
“Unfortunately, since 7 October, antisemitism has been on the rise again in our country,” he told TF1.
