French officials condemned the defacement of a monument honoring a family that hid a Jewish child from the 1942 mass wartime arrests.
A memorial plaque in Paris honoring Holocaust rescuers was vandalized ahead of the annual commemoration of the 1942 Vél d’Hiv roundup, French authorities said on Sunday.
The plaque recognizes a couple, Arsène and Angèle Richard, and their daughter Marcelle, who, at the risk of their lives, hid a 13-year-old Jewish boy during the mass arrests, earning them the title of Righteous Among the Nations from Israel. The vandalism comes amid a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents across France.
French Deputy Defense Minister Alice Rufo condemned the act, stating that the smashed plaque would be restored immediately and that the government “will not yield an inch” in the face of antisemitism. It was located at 15 Rue Louis Braille in Paris’s 12th arrondissement, where the Richard family lived.
« Quiconque sauve une vie sauve l’univers tout entier. »
Le 16 juillet 1942, Edmond Rajchman, 13 ans, échappait à la rafle du Vél d’Hiv. Sa mère, Rachel, arrêtée par la police, fut assassinée à Auschwitz. Lui vécut : ses voisins du 15 de la rue Louis Braille, Arsène et Angèle… pic.twitter.com/7nZw0zs56M
— Alice Rufo (@RufoAlice)July 18, 2026
The Vél d’Hiv roundup, carried out by French police collaborating with German occupiers on July 16-17, 1942, resulted in the deportation of more than 13,000 Jews to Nazi death camps, including more than 4,000 children.