A French-Jewish former lawmaker has issued an urgent televised appeal for France to “wake up” as Jewish leaders demand emergency powers following synagogue vandalism and looting of Jewish-owned businesses during weekend riots.
Meyer Habib, previously a member of the French National Assembly, spoke on Channel 14 after chaos engulfed multiple French cities on Saturday. “While French President Emmanuel is giving advice to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about security, the main square in Paris, the Christian Dior shops, the Apple shops, even grocery stores, [are looted] by whole families, mothers with their children,” he said.
“I feel pain for France, my country, and call on my French brethren: Wake up before it’s too late,” Habib added on the Israeli network.
The violence hit Paris’s 19th arrondissement, where a synagogue suffered interior damage documented by the Combat Antisemitism Movement. The footage shows tables, chairs, prayer books and other items tossed around the temple’s offices in the aftermath.
“When chaos and violence take over the streets, synagogues are the first to suffer,” Sacha Roytman, CEO of CAM, said in a statement. “The desecration of the synagogue in Paris is a clear warning sign: What begins against Jews never stops there.”
A congregant from the temple told IsraJ he believes the synagogue was targeted for antisemitic reasons rather than randomly. “It can’t be a coincidence that they chose to target a Jewish place of worship,” he said. “They must have thought that since they are Jewish, there must be money there.”
In Marseille, France’s second-largest city and home to one of Europe’s biggest Jewish populations, rioters vandalized dozens of shops. The looters stole products ranging from high-end Hermes items to basic groceries including bread, according to local reports.
Bruno Benjamin, who heads the Marseille-Provence branch of the CRIF umbrella group of French Jewish institutions, told JNS that Saturday’s chaos proved local forces cannot maintain order. “I believe we need to declare a state of emergency in France, send in the army, massively increase law enforcement personnel and arrest these rioters and vandals by every means,” he said.
Benjamin, who attributes the protests to the country’s far-left, added: “We are questioning whether they can ensure everyone’s safety.”
Ariel Goldmann of the Unified Jewish Social Fund confirmed that some shops hit in Marseille were Jewish-owned. However, Goldmann noted there is no evidence that Jewish-owned stores were specifically targeted during the riots, with his organization working alongside local authorities to determine the full motives behind the looting.
French journalist Paul Amar claimed Jewish-owned shops were directly targeted while Muslim-owned stores were allegedly spared, and criticized some protesters for waving Palestinian flags during the riots. The SPCJ has not verified this allegation of selective targeting.
The unrest stems from ongoing student protests that have spread across France, overwhelming police resources in multiple cities simultaneously. Jewish leaders inside the nation have pressed President Emmanuel Macron to invoke emergency powers as the disorder continues.
Habib’s televised intervention joined the chorus of demands for Macron to protect law-abiding citizens and take action against protesters displaying Palestinian flags during the destruction.