Antisemitic ‘Free Gaza’ graffiti found on Holocaust memorial in France

Antisemitic graffiti reading “Free Gaza” was sprayed on a Holocaust memorial in the French city of Lyon. Known locally as Les Rails de la Mémoire or "The Rails of Memory," the memorial honors French Jews who were deported by Nazi Germany and their local French collaborators to Auschwitz and other concentration camps. 

The Lyon mayor Grégory Doucet condemned the incident on Saturday as “unacceptable” and vowed to identify and prosecute those responsible for the antisemitic vandalism. 

“Lyon will continue to stand firm against hatred, antisemitism and racism,” Doucet said in an official statement that was distributed to French news agencies. The antisemitic graffiti was quickly removed, and local authorities have vowed to restore the memorial during the coming week. 

The Holocaust memorial was inaugurated in January 2025 to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The memorial has a golden inscription that reads: “In memory of six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, including 1.5 million children, 1941–1945, of whom 6,100 came from our region.”

Jonathan Arfi, the president of the French Jewish umbrella organization CRIF, strongly condemned the antisemitic incident. Arfi stressed the act “attempts to turn Jews into Nazis and attacks the core values of the Republic, as Holocaust remembrance is a shared heritage for all French citizens. Hatred of Israel simultaneously fuels both antisemitism and hostility toward the Republic.”

Some 76,000 French Jews including 11,000 Jewish children were deported from France by the Nazis during the Holocaust. 

Additionally, France is home to Europe’s largest Jewish community, which numbers around half a million people. Most French Jews reside in Paris and in other major French cities. Furthermore, France is home to the largest Muslim population in the European Union, numbering between six to seven million people. Antisemitic acts in France have increased dramatically since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis in 2023. Individuals with a Muslim background and from the far-left have played a leading role in the dramatic rise of antisemitism in French society. 

President Emmanuel Macron announced in July his intention to recognize a “Palestinian state” at the United Nations in September. Critics have argued that Macron is guided by domestic pressure from Muslim and far-left activists. 

Last month, French Jewish leader Robert Ejnes warned that the growing levels of antisemitism could push many French Jews to emigrate to Israel and other countries. He also assessed that Macron’s Middle East policy fueled antisemitism in France. 

“We're not surprised,” Ejnes said. “Because he said it three months ago... we had the reaction three months ago. We called it... the political error, political danger, diplomatic error and moral error as well," Ejnes said. The French Jewish leader believes that the recognition of a “Palestinian state” constitutes a reward for Hamas and the Oct. 7 atrocities against Israeli civilians. 

“We see it as a recognition of the terrorist value of the 7th of October,” Ejnes stated. “And we're not the only ones to say it, because Hamas leaders [said] exactly the same thing three days ago."

The U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner was recently summoned after he publicly criticized the French government for not doing enough to combat antisemitism and for encouraging anti-Israel sentiments. 

"Public statements haranguing Israel and gestures toward recognition of a Palestinian state embolden extremists, fuel violence, and endanger Jewish life in France. In today's world, anti-Zionism is antisemitism – plain and simple," Kushner wrote in an open letter to Macron that was published in The Wall Street Journal.

Israel has also criticized France for what it calls rewarding Hamas and the Oct. 7 atrocities.

“When U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner expressed concern over rising antisemitism, he was reprimanded for ‘interfering in internal affairs.’ France needs to wake up!” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned.