An investigation into violence committed on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality or religion has been launched, the Bobigny public prosecutor’s office told AFP without providing any details of the incident.
Early this week, the SwordOfSalomon account posted footage of the incident on X which has been viewed more than 440,000 times, claiming that it was filmed at the French capital’s Charles de Gaulle Airport on June 25.
The video shows a young boy, whose face has been pixelated, playing a video game. A man, whose face cannot be seen, comes up to the boy and takes the toy.
“Are you gonna free Palestine, bro?” the man says to the boy in English. “If you don’t free them, I’ll snatch your hat off, bro,” he says, referring to the child’s kippah.
The man also tells the child several times, in broken French, “dance, cachou” -apparently mispronouncing the French word “cochon” (pig), and the confused boy is seen trying to dance.
The account claimed that the man targeted two Jewish French children, one of whom was aged 7.
Jewish groups have said that the number of anti-Semitic assaults rose sharply in France after the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, which was followed by Israel bombarding the Gaza Strip and blocking aid. Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict.
Yonathan Arfi, president of CRIF, which represents Jewish institutions in France, said the incident was “yet another illustration of the climate of anti-Semitism that has prevailed in Europe” since the 2023 attacks.
He said he was struck by “the unbridled, uninhibited nature of the anti-Semitism”.
Paris airports company Groupe ADP said it was “working closely with the state services and all stakeholders in the airport community, including the Chief Rabbi, who is one of the airport chaplains”.
“No compromise from Groupe ADP on anti-Semitism,” the company added.
-Agence France-Presse
