Overview

• The olive tree planted in 2011 at the Parc des Senteurs in Épinay-sur-Seine was cut down overnight with what appears to be a chainsaw, leaving only its stump.
• Épinay mayor Hervé Chevreau filed a criminal complaint and Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez opened a hate-crime probe into the incident.
• Officials and Jewish leaders cited security footage showing unidentified individuals felling the memorial and pledged to replant a new tree promptly.
• Ilan Halimi’s 2006 abduction, torture and death led to life sentences for the ‘Barbarians’ gang, and previous tributes were vandalized in 2017 and 2019.
• Jewish organizations warn the attack follows a reported rise in antisemitic incidents in France since October 2023.