The memorial plaque at the foot of the tree was not damaged.

Widespread emotion and outrage followed the destruction of an olive tree dedicated to the memory of Ilan Halimi, a Parisian Jew who was tortured to death in 2006, daily Le Parisien reported.

According to CCTV footage, the tree was cut down in the Parc des Senteurs in the city of Epinay sur Seine near Paris during the night between Wednesday and Thursday.

Planted in 2011 in the presence of the Chief Rabbi of France and the Jewish community, the olive tree paid tribute to the 20-year-old Jewish man who was kidnapped and tortured for 24 days by the “Gang of Barbarians” before succumbing to his injuries on February 13, 2006. The commemorative plaque at the foot of the tree was not damaged.

For the city mayor, Hervé Chevreau there is no doubt that this was an anti-Semitic act. “The fact that this olive tree paid tribute to Ilan Halimi was well known,” he said, announcing that he had filed a complaint for “destruction of property intended for public use or decoration.”. He promised to replace the tree and once again honor the memory of the young man, a tragic symbol of the fight against anti-Semitism.

The case recalls a previous incident in February 2019 in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois , where two trees planted in memory of Ilan Halimi were cut down a few days before a memorial ceremony.