Macron condemns anti-Semitic abuse by ‘yellow vests’

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron condemned anti-Semitic abuse of a leading intellectual by “yellow vest” protestors and said it would not be tolerated.

In Paris, an array of insults, some anti-Semitic, by a handful of yellow vest protesters targeted a well-known French philosopher, Alain Finkielkraut, underscoring excesses that surge within an increasingly divided movement with radical fringes.

“The anti-Semitic insults he has been subjected to are the absolute negation of what we are and what makes us a great nation. We will not tolerate it,” Macron tweeted.

“The son of Polish immigrants who became a French academician, Alain Finkielkraut is not only a prominent man of letters but the symbol of what the Republic allows everyone,” the president added in another tweet. Police had intervened to this case. On Saturday, police fired tear gas and brought in water cannons and a horse brigade to disperse several thousand yellow vest protesters massed near a Paris landmark at the end of a march through the French capital. This was the 14th straight weekend of demonstrations.

Several protestors shouted “Dirty Zionist,” “We are the people” and “France is ours”, according to a video broadcast by Yahoo! News.