Public outrage is boiling over in France following a case where a 12-year-old Jewish girl was gang raped. The incident has sparked political controversy over anti-Semitism, especially as the attackers called the victim a “dirty Jew” during the assault.
According to a report by AFP on the 19th (local time), a 12-year-old girl was gang-raped by three boys on June 15 at a park in Courbevoie, a suburb northwest of Paris.
The attackers, aged 12-13, are accused of dragging the victim into a warehouse, beating, and sexually assaulting her.
According to police, the boys referred to the victim as a “dirty Jew” and made anti-Semitic remarks during the assault.
One of the boys reportedly asked the victim about Judaism and Israel, filmed the crime scene, and threatened to kill her if she revealed the assault.
The boys were arrested on the 17th.
Two of them, aged 13, have been charged with gang rape, anti-Semitic insults, assault, and death threats, and are currently in custody.
The third boy, aged 12, has been charged with anti-Semitic insults, violence, and death threats, but has been released for now.
The incident has shocked French society, which has the largest Jewish population other than Israel and the United States.
France has been grappling with anti-Semitism since the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas broke out in the Gaza Strip last October.
Anti-Semitic protests involving hundreds of people have been held in Paris and Lyon over the incident. With the political sphere joining ahead of the general elections at the end of the month, the criticism is spreading across France.
According to AFP, a banner reading “Assaulted at 12 for being Jewish” was hung at the protest site in central Paris. French Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti was also reported to have attended the demonstration.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for a dialogue on racial discrimination and hatred against Jews at a cabinet meeting, saying that anti-Semitism is threatening schools.
Marine Le Pen, the de facto leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), blamed the far-left for the incident.
Le Pen claimed that the far-left had “stigmatized Jewish people” after the outbreak of the Gaza Strip war last year.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Head of the far-left party France Insoumise (LFI), which has been criticized for downplaying the seriousness of anti-Semitic crimes, also condemned anti-Semitic racism.
Jacques Kossowski, the center-right mayor of Courbevoie, called the incident “an abject act” and said that the perpetrators should face the full force of the law, regardless of their age.
According to AFP, anti-Semitic acts are on the rise in France, with 12.7% of the 1,676 anti-Semitic acts reported last year occurring in schools.
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