Sarkozy heads signatures on French anti-semitism manifesto

NICOLAS SARKOZY, the former French president, and Gérard Depardieu, the actor and star of Green Card, were among 300 public figures who signed a manifesto against the “quiet ethnic cleansing” of Jews in France after a wave of murders.

In a declaration published in Le Parisien yesterday, the group from across the political spectrum attacked what it called a worrying “new anti-semitism” in France, driven by rising Islamist radicalism particularly in working-class neighbourhoods.

It accused the media of remaining silent and elements of parts of the Left of seeking to justify such violence as “the expression of social revolt” for political gain.

The manifesto came a week after members of the Jewish community in the UK lodged more than 1,000 official complaints calling on Labour to investigate Jeremy Corbyn over anti-semitism. At around half a million, France has Europe’s largest Jewish population.

The manifesto reads: “In our recent history, 11 Jews have been assassinated by radical Islamists because they were Jewish. We demand that the fight against this democratic failure that is anti-semitism becomes a national cause before it’s too late. Before France is no longer France.”

Signatories also included Charles Aznavour, the veteran singer, and Bertrand Delanoë, former mayor of Paris.