President Emmanuel Macron took a sharp condemnatory position after a vandal act against a memorial tree dedicated to Ilan Halimi - a young Jew brutally murdered years ago in the Paris area.
The olive tree, which was planted 14 years ago in his memory, was deliberately cut down on Wednesday in the suburb of Épinay-sur-Seine. Local authorities documented the destruction by publishing photos of the felled tree, discarded in a nearby flower bed.
Macron described this act as an "attempt to kill him a second time", categorically stating that the state would take all possible actions to identify and punish the perpetrators. Paris Police Chief Laurent Nuñez confirmed that the investigation has already started.
Halimi's story is extremely tragic. In 2006, he was kidnapped by a criminal group known as "The Barbarians" and subjected to extremely cruel torture for more than three weeks. His body was ultimately found completely disfigured - naked, marked, and left to be discovered near a railway line.
The criminals, led by Youssef Fofana, deliberately chose him because of his Jewish origin, believing that his family had large financial resources. They tried to demand a ransom of 450,000 euros, sending threatening evidence to his relatives.
Subsequently, Fofana was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years, while the other accomplices received lighter sentences.
Prime Minister François Bayrou also joined in condemning the act, describing it as a manifestation of "anti-Semitic hatred". He emphasized that memory cannot be erased through such actions.
This incident is not an isolated case. Previously, in 2019, another memorial tree dedicated to Halimi was also destroyed. Similar acts of vandalism have been documented against other memorial signs associated with the Jewish community.
Macron categorically stated that France "will not forget this child who died because of his Jewish origin". He emphasized that the republic will always be uncompromising against anti-Semitism.
The investigation continues, with authorities mobilizing all necessary resources to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.