Several hundred people gathered on Thursday night in front of the Japy gymnasium, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, in memory of the victims of the Nazi Crystal Night, which marked the 85th anniversary. The call was made by the Memorial 98 association and the Network of Actions against Anti-Semitism and all Racism, in a context of rising anti-Semitic acts in France since the bloody Hamas attack in Israel on October 7.
The CGT and LFI called for participation in the rally in front of the Japy gymnasium, where many Jews were interned during the Occupation before being sent to concentration camps. Clémence Guetté, Alexis Corbière, Raquel Garrido, Clémentine Autain… Several elected officials of La France insoumise – criticized for being the only party not calling for the large march against anti-Semitism on Sunday – were present.
“It is very important for me to find a moment, a place, to express my solidarity and my empathy towards all those who are threatened or who suffer from anti-Semitic acts. It is very important to make our voice heard,” said Seine-Saint-Denis MP Clémentine Autain to AFP.
“It is unthinkable that the far right can have a say in the demonstrations against anti-Semitism while we are prevented from expressing this solidarity and empathy,” she added.
Sophie Binet, the general secretary of the CGT, expressed the “solidarity” of the trade union with the Jews of France. “How can we think of marching alongside the far right, the spiritual heirs of those who deported six million Jews, to denounce anti-Semitism? How can we accept to march against anti-Semitism alongside Eric Zemmour, convicted of denialism?” she declared to the crowd. The former far-right candidate for the presidency and current president of the party Reconquête! has never been convicted of denialism. He has been definitively convicted twice for incitement to hatred, for statements made in 2010 and 2016.
