French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned what he calls an "act of hatred" following the cutting down of an olive tree memorial for Ilan Halimi, a Jewish man who was brutally murdered in Paris in 2006. Macron reiterated the government’s commitment to track down and punish the culprit behind this symbolic attack, which he described as “an attempt to kill him a second time.”
The memorial tree, located in Épinay-sur-Seine, was found severed at its base and thrown into a nearby flowerbed. This act comes 14 years after Halimi was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by a gang that targeted him due to his Jewish heritage, leading to public outrage and national conversations about antisemitism.
Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez has launched an investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice, with Macron emphasizing that "all means are being deployed" to address this issue. Halimi’s tragic fate drew attention to how targeted violence against Jews has persisted in France, leading to a collective determination among officials to confront manifestations of antisemitism head-on.
Officials, including Prime Minister François Bayrou, have also condemned the destruction of the memorial, asserting that the fight against hatred and antisemitism must remain a priority for the nation. Notably, this incident mirrors previous acts of vandalism against memorials for Halimi, underscoring a troubling pattern of antisemitic attacks in France.
