Verbal attack on French philosopher

An upsurge in anti-Semitism in France reached a climax at the weekend with a torrent of hate speech directed at a distinguished philosopher during a march of yellow vest protesters, adding to questions about the radicalised fringes of the movement hidden within French society and troubling the nation.

Paris judicial authorities opened an investigation yesterday into antiSemitic remarks hurled at Alain Finkielkraut a day earlier as he accompanied his mother-in-law to her Left Bank home in Paris.

The investigation is being conducted into ‘‘public insult based on origin, ethnicity, nationality, race or religion’’ after a band of men in the protest march raged at Finkielkraut. ‘‘Go back to Tel Aviv,’’ ‘‘Zionist,’’ and ‘‘France is our land’’ were among the insults captured on video.

The assault came days after the government said anti-Semitic incidents in France soared last year in what Interior Minister Christophe Castaner called a ‘‘poison’’ spreading ‘‘like a venom’’.

The scene with Finkielkraut was a vicious verbal interlude as thousands of protesters made their way through Paris for the 14th consecutive Saturday of demonstrations by the yellow vest movement. The movement, whose marches have been marked by violence and destruction, has become the top domestic challenge for President Emmanuel Macron, who is accused by demonstrators of favouring the haves over have-nots.

Several thousand protesters gathered again in Paris to mark the threemonth anniversary of the movement, which started November 17 with nationwide protests over fuel tax increases. But the sparse turnout reflected a growing disenchantment with the grassroots phenomenon, once heartily supported, but increasingly divided and violent.

Finkielkraut, a member of the prestigious Academie Francaise, said in two television interviews that he was worried by the changing nature of the movement that he initially supported.

But he told French television station LCI he doesn’t intend to file a complaint.

‘‘I want one thing: I want to know who they are. What movement do they belong to?’’ Finkielkraut said on LCI.

There are suspicions, and clear clues, that some extremist groups have infiltrated the yellow vest movement.

Finkielkraut and others point to ultra-leftists and the ultra-right as likely forces behind violence. He also pointed to a comedian known as Dieudonne and an intellectual, Alain Soral, both convicted in the past of racism. Dieudonne showed up at one yellow vest event.

Numerous political parties are holding an anti-Semitism rally in Paris this week. However, Finkielkraut said he did not know whether he would attend. –