French President Emmanuel Macron has denounced the recent vandalization of a memorial tree honoring Ilan Halimi, a Jewish man murdered in 2006, as a despicable "act of hatred." The olive tree, which stood for 14 years in Épinay-sur-Seine, was discovered cut down and discarded by a flowerbed, prompting immediate outrage and calls for action from the French leadership.
Macron vowed to ensure that every resource would be utilized to identify and punish those responsible for this act, describing the destruction as "an attempt to kill him a second time." He reiterated that "France will not forget this child of France who died because he was Jewish," reinforcing his commitment to an uncompromising stance against antisemitism.
Laurent Nuñez, the Paris police chief, confirmed that an investigation is currently underway to track down the culprits behind the memorial’s destruction. The police have promised that “everything will be done to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice."
Ilan Halimi was kidnapped in February 2006 by a gang known as the Barbarian gang, who attempted to extort a ransom from his family. After enduring three weeks of captivity, his mutilated body was discovered along a railway line, handcuffed to a tree, reflecting the brutality of the crime motivated by antisemitism.
The memorial tree's felling marks a disturbing continuation of attacks against Halimi's legacy, with previous incidents of vandalism against other memorials dedicated to him reported in recent years. French Prime Minister François Bayrou attributed the incident directly to "antisemitic hatred," highlighting France's ongoing battle against the pervasive poison of hatred.
Macron, along with other officials, pledged resolute action to confront and eradicate antisemitism in France, reaffirming that no crime will erase the memories of those who suffered due to such prejudice.
