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François Bayrou“The tree for Ilan Halimi was mowed by anti -Semitic hatred”
The French Prime Minister denounced “the hatred” of those who killed the tree planted in homage to the young Jewish French kidnapped and tortured to death in 2006.
A photo of Ilan Halimi is visible on an improvised memorial, on February 13, 2019 in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, after a ceremony in his tribute, two days after two trees planted in memory of this 23-year-old Jewish young man, kidnapped and murdered more than ten years ago, were vandalized.
AFPPrime Minister François Bayrou denounced on Friday the “anti-Semitic hatred” of those who shot the tree planted in Epinay-sur-Seine in tribute to Ilan Halimi, young Jewish French kidnapped and tortured to death in 2006 by the “Gang des Barbars”.
“The tree for Ilan Halimi, living bulwark against oblivion, was mowed by anti -Semitic hatred. No crime can uproot memory. The fight never completed against the mortal poison of hatred is our primary duty, “wrote the head of government on X.
The tree, which had been planted in 2011 in this commune of Seine-Saint-Denis, was probably cut using a chainsaw on the night of Wednesday to Thursday.
Emmanuel Macron assured Friday that France would be “always uncompromising” in the face of anti -Semitism. “Bringing down the tree paying homage to Ilan Halimi is trying to kill him a second time. It will be nothing: the nation will not forget this child of France dead because Jewish. All means are deployed to punish this act of hatred, ”wrote President Macron on the social network X.
General reprobation
Several other political leaders have expressed their emotion and their reprobation after this act, while the Jewish community has faced a very strong increase in anti -Semitic facts since Hamas’ attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023 and the start of the war in Gaza.
“Shame on the anti -Semitic profanator who had to think that this act was of infinite courage …”, also launched on X the first secretary of the Socialist Party Olivier Faure, while the deputy of rebellious France (LFI) Antoine Léaument has expressed his “immense anger” and his “full support for our Jewish compatriots”.
On the right, Eric Ciotti, boss of the UDR allied with the national rally, sees it as “an abominable symbol of the explosion of anti -Semitism in our country as much as an infamous attack on the memory of the martyr of Ilan Halimi”.
Ilan Halimi, 23, had been kidnapped, kidnapped and tortured in January 2006 by a group of around twenty people who called themselves “the gang of barbarians”, under the direction of Youssouf Fofana.
Discovered naked, gagged, handcuffed and carrying traces of torture and burns, in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, in Essonne, the young man died during his transfer to the hospital a little less than a month later.
