Memorial Sign Honoring Jewish Rescuers Vandalized in Paris Ahead of Holocaust Remembrance

France marked the annual remembrance day for the 1942 mass arrest of Jews at the Vélodrome d'Hiver in Paris, a dark episode during World War II when French police detained thousands of Jews, including children, who were then deported to Nazi extermination camps. This event, one of the most shameful actions by the Vichy government collaborating with Nazi Germany, involved over 4,500 police officers and resulted in the deportation of more than 13,000 people, about a third of them children.

Ahead of the memorial ceremony, a commemorative plaque in Paris dedicated to a couple and their daughter recognized as Righteous Among the Nations for rescuing a 13-year-old Jewish boy during the arrests was vandalized. French authorities condemned the attack, with Alice Roufau, France's Deputy Defense Minister, stating, "Attacking the Righteous Among the Nations is an affront to all humanity." She assured that the plaque would be restored and emphasized that the Republic would not retreat in the face of antisemitism.

France hosts the largest Jewish community in Europe, and antisemitic incidents, including threats, property damage, and physical assaults, have risen since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the ensuing conflict in Gaza. The Vélodrome d'Hiver, named after the indoor cycling stadium where many detainees were held before deportation, was destroyed by fire damage in 1959. A memorial statue was inaugurated in 1994 at the site to honor victims of racial and antisemitic persecution under the Vichy regime.

Only about 50 years after World War II ended did France officially acknowledge state responsibility for the Holocaust, with then-President Jacques Chirac apologizing for the government's role in the mass arrests. The vandalism of the plaque ahead of the remembrance ceremony underscores ongoing challenges with rising antisemitism in France today.