A primary school in Lyon, France, was set on fire and daubed with antisemitic and pro-Palestine slogans and swastikas, the local prefecture reported.
The graffiti was found in three classrooms in the Nové-Josserand school, but the fire only affected the outdoor toilets.
Mohamed Chihi, deputy for tranquility, safety, and security at Lyon City Hall, said, “Antisemitic graffiti, swastikas, attempted arson: these acts target our school, and therefore our Republic.”
Chihi added that an investigation had been opened to determine the incentive behind the attack, given that the school had no established connections to the Jewish community.
Yonathan Arfi, the head of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), wrote on X/Twitter that “The Palestinian cause is used as justification for burning down a school” and the “Nazification of Israel serves as fuel for crass antisemitism.”
CRIF Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes “condemned this hateful attack in the strongest possible terms” and connected it to the vandalism of three synagogues, a restaurant, and the Shoah memorial in Paris on Friday: “In Paris, synagogues and the Shoah Memorial: desecrated. In Lyon: a school set on fire and defaced with swastikas.”
“This is not one ‘tag too many,’ nor an isolated act. It is a signal. A passage to action. Those who dream of a France without Jews are now setting fire to schools.”
Thomas Rudigoz, a former MP and metropolitan councilor, said, “Just steps from the Montluc prison memorial, a Lyon school has been targeted by swastikas, anti-Semitic graffiti, and a fire. Hatred is reborn where memory should protect. Shame on those who stir up hatred.”
Carole Delga, the President of the Occitane region, said, “From Paris to Lyon, our Republic is once again ravaged by hatred. Shame on those who minimize these facts and fuel this climate.”
