Tilly
2004-07-12 11:40:56 UTC
French politicians have reacted with horror to an anti-Semitic attack on a
woman and her baby on a train.
A gang of young men cut her hair, slashed her clothes and drew swastikas on
her body, before overturning the pram in which her infant was lying.
Other passengers failed to intervene as the six men attacked the woman, whom
they accused of being Jewish.
President Jacques Chirac condemned the "shameful act", which came the day
after he vowed a crackdown on racism.
He demanded that "everything be done to catch the perpetrators... and that
they are judged and sentenced with all severity".
Surrounded
The 23-year-old woman was on a train just north of Paris on Friday morning,
with her 13-month-old baby.
Six men - described by French media as of North African appearance -
surrounded her and rifled through her bag.
According to police, they found papers referring to the wealthy 16th
district of the capital, and said: "There are only Jews in the 16th."
Police said the woman was not Jewish and no longer lived in the district.
The attackers reportedly shoved the woman, used a knife to cut her hair and
her shirt open, and drew swastikas on her stomach with a marker pen.
The baby was apparently tipped out of its pram in the melee.
Passengers criticised
Politicians from all sides condemned the attack.
Jean-Paul Huchon, president of the Ile-de-France region surrounding Paris,
despaired of the lack of reaction from fellow passengers.
He recalled the French deportation of Jewish children during German
occupation in World War II, saying: "And now, we let people be attacked like
this without reacting, without doing anything."
Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin ordered police to find the culprits
"as quickly as possible".
On Thursday, President Chirac complained of a spate of racist and
anti-Semitic attacks, including the desecration of Jewish and Muslim graves.
Commentators have linked increasing Muslim-Jewish tension to the continuing
conflict in the Middle East.
A few days previously, a report warned that poor suburban areas of French
cities were becoming ethnic "ghettoes", where radical Islam was taking root.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3884983.stm
Tilly
--
***@hotmail.com
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.716 / Virus Database: 472 - Release Date: 5/07/04
woman and her baby on a train.
A gang of young men cut her hair, slashed her clothes and drew swastikas on
her body, before overturning the pram in which her infant was lying.
Other passengers failed to intervene as the six men attacked the woman, whom
they accused of being Jewish.
President Jacques Chirac condemned the "shameful act", which came the day
after he vowed a crackdown on racism.
He demanded that "everything be done to catch the perpetrators... and that
they are judged and sentenced with all severity".
Surrounded
The 23-year-old woman was on a train just north of Paris on Friday morning,
with her 13-month-old baby.
Six men - described by French media as of North African appearance -
surrounded her and rifled through her bag.
According to police, they found papers referring to the wealthy 16th
district of the capital, and said: "There are only Jews in the 16th."
Police said the woman was not Jewish and no longer lived in the district.
The attackers reportedly shoved the woman, used a knife to cut her hair and
her shirt open, and drew swastikas on her stomach with a marker pen.
The baby was apparently tipped out of its pram in the melee.
Passengers criticised
Politicians from all sides condemned the attack.
Jean-Paul Huchon, president of the Ile-de-France region surrounding Paris,
despaired of the lack of reaction from fellow passengers.
He recalled the French deportation of Jewish children during German
occupation in World War II, saying: "And now, we let people be attacked like
this without reacting, without doing anything."
Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin ordered police to find the culprits
"as quickly as possible".
On Thursday, President Chirac complained of a spate of racist and
anti-Semitic attacks, including the desecration of Jewish and Muslim graves.
Commentators have linked increasing Muslim-Jewish tension to the continuing
conflict in the Middle East.
A few days previously, a report warned that poor suburban areas of French
cities were becoming ethnic "ghettoes", where radical Islam was taking root.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3884983.stm
Tilly
--
***@hotmail.com
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.716 / Virus Database: 472 - Release Date: 5/07/04