“Desecrating the memory of Holocaust victims in this way is an attempt to Nazify the Jews,” says Yonathan Arfi, president of Crif.

A Holocaust memorial in the French city of Lyon was vandalized with the words “Free Gaza,” municipal authorities announced on Saturday.

The incident, which occurred on a black marble commemorative plaque, fuels concerns about the resurgence of anti-Semitic acts and hate crimes in France.

According to the municipality, the inscription was carved into the monument, which was inaugurated in January 2025 on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, using a sharp object. Municipal services quickly removed the graffiti to restore the plaque.

Lyon Mayor Grégory Doucet  quickly strongly  condemned this act. “The vandalism of the Holocaust memorial in Lyon is an intolerable act. I strongly condemn it and express my full support for memorial associations, survivors, and their descendants,” he said. He added that “the perpetrators will be sought and prosecuted” and reiterated the city’s commitment to fighting “hatred, anti-Semitism, and racism.”

Jean-Olivier Viout, president of the Memorial Association, has filed a complaint. For the town hall, “the fact that this inscription was made on a monument dedicated to the Holocaust clearly constitutes an anti-Semitic act.”

“To desecrate the memory of the victims of the Holocaust in this way is to attempt to Nazify the Jews,” said Yonathan Arfi, ¨President of Crif, the representative body of French Jewish institutions. “Hatred of Israel fuels both hatred of Jews and hatred of the Republic,”he added.

The Jewish community of France is the largest in Europe.

According to the French Interior Ministry, 646 anti-Semitic acts were recorded in the country during the first half of 2025. This figure represents a 27% decrease compared to 2024, but a 112% increase compared to the same period in 2023, in a climate marked by the war between Israel and Hamas.