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3d ago

Paris Probes Green Paint Vandalism of Jewish Sites

Prosecutors are analysing CCTV footage to identify the vandal following heightened security across Paris’s Jewish quarter for the Shavuot holiday.

A cyclist looks at Paris' Shoah Memorial defaced with green paint after several Jewish sites across the capital were defaced with green paint. Saturday, May 31, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Paris' Shoah Memorial is defaced with green paint after several Jewish sites across the capital were defaced with green paint. Saturday, May 31, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
A man looks at 'The Wall of the Righteous' which honours people who saved Jews during the Nazi occupation of France, after it was covered in green paint, in Paris, France, May 31, 2025. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor
A man looks at Paris' Shoah Memorial defaced with green paint after several Jewish sites across the capital were defaced with green paint. Saturday, May 31, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Overview

  • Several Jewish landmarks in central Paris were sprayed with green paint overnight on May 30, defacing the Shoah Memorial, two synagogues and a Jewish restaurant.
  • The Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation for "damage committed on religious grounds" and CCTV footage shows a figure in black with an open paint can around 4:30 am.
  • Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and Mayor Anne Hidalgo condemned the intimidation, Paris authorities filed a complaint and patrols around synagogues and memorials were bolstered.
  • Jewish community leaders, including CRIF president Yonathan Arfi, expressed outrage at the stigmatization and urged rapid arrests as antisemitic incidents in France rose to 1,570 last year.
  • The Israeli embassy denounced the incident as a "coordinated anti-Semitic attack" and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on President Macron to strengthen measures against growing antisemitism.