Antisemitic vandal defaces Holocaust memorial, synagogues with green paint in Paris
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Antisemitic vandal defaces Holocaust memorial, synagogues with green paint in Paris
The Wall of the Righteous, dedicated to 3,900 individuals who helped rescue Jews in France during the Second World War, was one of the sites vandalized in the early hours of Saturday. The memorial, located in the Marais district, was covered with green paint that obscured the names engraved on it. Two synagogues and Chez Marianne, an Israeli restaurant popular with both locals and tourists, were also targeted, according to the report. Police said CCTV footage showed a man dressed in black throwing paint at the sites at around 4.30 a.m. No arrests have been reported.
The Wall of the Righteous, dedicated to 3,900 individuals who helped rescue Jews in France during the Second World War, was one of the sites vandalized in the early hours of Saturday. The memorial, located in the Marais district, was covered with green paint that obscured the names engraved on it.
Two synagogues and Chez Marianne, an Israeli restaurant popular with both locals and tourists, were also targeted, according to the report. Police said CCTV footage showed a man dressed in black throwing paint at the sites at around 4.30 a.m. An open can of green paint was found at one of the locations.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo condemned the incident on social media, writing that “anti-Semitism has no place in our city and in our Republic.” She said city workers would remove the paint and that a formal complaint would be filed. Advertisement The Wall of the Righteous, dedicated to 3,900 individuals who helped rescue Jews in France during the Second World War, was vandalized by green paint, May 31, 2025. (credit: SCREENSHOT/X, SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau also condemned the vandalism, describing it as “odious acts targeting the Jewish community” in a post on X.
Immense degout devant ces actes odieux qui visent la communauté juive. https://t.co/bDPLxpCopn — Bruno Retailleau (@BrunoRetailleau) May 31, 2025
No arrests have been reported.
Retailleau recently called for enhanced security at Jewish sites across France, especially ahead of the upcoming Jewish holiday of Shavuot. He emphasized the need for “visible and dissuasive” security measures to protect Jewish communities.
Repeat antisemitic incidents
This is not the first time the Wall of the Righteous has been targeted. Last year, red handprints were sprayed on the memorial in what police later described as an act carried out by Bulgarian nationals allegedly linked to Russian intelligence. Authorities called the incident a “copy-paste” of another high-profile vandalism in autumn 2023, when 250 blue Stars of David were painted on buildings in Paris. Advertisement
French officials said the graffiti was part of a broader Russian disinformation effort to stoke division in the country. According to the Foreign Ministry, 1,095 bots on X published nearly 2,600 posts amplifying the images of the tags, describing it as “a new Russian digital interference operation against France.”
Police said they are continuing to investigate the latest incident.
REUTERS contributed to this report.
Paris officials investigate vandalism at Holocaust memorial, 3 synagogues
Vandalism targeted the Shoah Memorial, two synagogues and a Jewish restaurant in the city’s historic Marais district. An open can of paint was reportedly found nearby, while French media said surveillance footage from the Holocaust Memorial showed an individual dressed in black spraying paint overnight. France has the third-largest Jewish population in the world, behind Israel and the United States.
Authorities in Paris have launched an investigation after several Jewish sites across the capital were defaced with green paint.
The vandalism, discovered early Saturday morning, targeted the Shoah Memorial, two synagogues and a Jewish restaurant in the city’s historic Marais district, as well as a third synagogue in the 20th arrondissement (district). An open can of paint was reportedly found nearby, while French media said surveillance footage from the Holocaust Memorial showed an individual dressed in black spraying paint overnight.
Photos from the Shoah Memorial show paint coating a wall engraved with the names of the 76,000 Jewish men, women and children deported from France between 1942 and 1944.
Paris’ Shoah Memorial is defaced with green paint after several Jewish sites across the capital were defaced with green paint. Saturday, May 31, 2025 in Paris. Aurelien Morissard / AP
The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed it had opened a probe for “damage committed on the grounds of religion,” citing attacks on “three synagogues, a restaurant, and the Shoah Memorial” during the night of Friday to Saturday.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau expressed his “immense disgust” regarding the acts of vandalism targeting the Jewish community through a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The acts come ahead of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. France’s interior ministry had already called for heightened security around Jewish sites this weekend due to heightened global tensions.
No suspects have been arrested, and no group has claimed responsibility.
France has the third-largest Jewish population in the world, behind Israel and the United States, according to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research.