Riots in France: Jewish-Owned Businesses Damaged

Media outlets in Marseille, France, reported on Sunday that rioters damaged businesses owned by Jews. According to the reports, the rioters reached those businesses using a list prepared in advance, while “on that same street, businesses owned by Muslims were left untouched.”

In addition, the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) reported that a synagogue in the 19th arrondissement of Paris was vandalized and desecrated at the height of the unrest in the capital. Tables, furniture and equipment inside the building were destroyed.

Sacha Roytman, CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, said: “When chaos and violence take over the streets, synagogues are the first to be hit. The desecration of the synagogue in Paris is a clear warning sign: what begins with the Jews never stops there.”

Over the past 24 hours, the wave of unrest across France reached its peak. Some 1,200 protesters were arrested and hundreds of police officers were injured. Macron has not yet declared a state of emergency, and he plans to address the nation tonight.

The current escalation is attributed to the merging of two movements: a high school students’ protest over the neglect of the education system, which began in mid-September in the Paris suburbs, and the “Yellow Vests” movement together with the labor unions, who are protesting the high cost of living and cuts to public services.