The rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl by three of her peers with an anti-Semitic background has shocked French society and upset the election campaign. “What is the mechanism that led three 12- to 13-year-old boys to “punish” a 12-year-old Jewish girl simply because what was it?’ asks French society in awe.

It was last Saturday, in the Coubervois park outside Paris, where the boys spotted their peer. They asked her if she was hiding her religion, called her a “dirty Jew” when she admitted it, and her torture began: she was isolated and raped in succession.

Blatant anti-Semitism and misogyny make for a very dangerous combination. As the rape became known, questions have been raised about how French society has reached this point. “When kids rape kids, it’s the society they grow up in that should be questioned. What do they hear and see at home and in the immediate environment, so that at such a young age they consider rape as a terrible weapon that they have the right to use.” It is a basic consideration that dominates the thinking of many, coupled with the responsibility of parents.

Around 500 people from anti-racist and women’s organizations gathered in protest yesterday in the Place de la Bastille, another is planned for today in Coubervois, while another one is being discussed for Sunday. The French are trying to understand together what is happening to their children and their society. It is now proven that anti-Semitism has reached explosive proportions in France. According to official figures, in the first quarter of 2024 anti-Semitic acts and attacks increased by 300% compared to last year.

Melanchon in the crosshairs

There are many who blame Jean-Luc Mélenchon, head of the far-left Disobedients, for the anti-Semitic climate they sowed during the European elections.

It was considered that with the electoral target of Muslim voters he pursued a strongly pro-Palestinian policy and particularly negative towards Israel. When the rape of the 12-year-old Jewish girl became known, Jean-Luc Mélenchon was the first to declare on Platform X that he felt “horrified by this rape, which brought to light the formation of criminal male behavior with anti-Semitism and racism from a young age of boys”.