‘People should be more stressed about a Le Pen win’

IT’S A very unsettling time for Jews in France. Painful family memories mean that even the younger generation are getting involved in the political debate and questioning their future in the country.

Although the polls are indicating a clear victory for Emmanuel Macron, young French Jews feel there is no room for complacency.

Antoine Levy, 24, is a PhD candidate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He will vote by proxy on Sunday.

He said: “I feel people are not as stressed as they should be about Le Pen getting in, she appears to be trying to win the Jewish vote by saying that Islamist extremists are the real problem. For my Jewish friends, voting ‘blanc’ is not an option. They are essentially afraid of Le Pen.”

Alexi Ucko, 25, from Strasbourg, is an entrepreneur with a business in France.

“I am really worried. Fifteen years ago, over a million people demonstrated in the streets against Jean Marie le Pen, people were passionately fighting against extremism. It’s not the same spirit now. If Le Pen is elected I will be gone within the month.”

Keeping up the fight against extremism is currently the key mission of the Union of French Jewish Students (UEJF).

Sasha Ghozlan, 24, president of UEJF, said: “We are trying to mobilise people to vote for Macron and preserve democracy. If Le Pen is elected she said she would close our organisation down. UEJF was founded in 1944 by members of the resistance and we will continue to resist.”

Levana Hercz, 12, a pupil at the Alliance Israelite Universelle in the 16th Arrondissement of Paris is keen to speak out. Brought up to believe in France’s motto of “Liberté, égalité, fraternité”, she said she feared that Jews would not be able to express their Judaism freely under Le Pen.

“I want to tell people not to vote for Marine le Pen. I think she is a xenophobe and antisemitic. I couldn’t imagine growing up in France if Le Pen were in power.” Laurent, her father, said his children were not afraid, however. “The kids in Paris are used to the constant dramatic situation, they been caught up in the attacks, locked into their schools for safety. They are ready to fight for freedom, or leave,” he said.

On the other side of Paris, in the 13th Arrondissement, children at the Jewish school Alliance Georges Leven, have worryingly mixed views of the far-right.

“Amongst my peer group not everyone feels the same,” said Simon Couperman, 15. “Some are afraid and want to leave if Le Pen gets in, others go as far as to say she is OK. Personally, if Le Pen gets in I would want to leave.”