A 15-year-old schoolboy called a “dirty Jew” and beaten by classmates, Jewish graves desecrated the next day

The Madeleine cemetery in Evreux was damaged the day after the attack on a Jewish schoolboy. Illustration Pixabay

A Jewish schoolboy was attacked on Tuesday May 28 and the next day, four Jewish graves were "defiled" in Evreux. Judicial investigations have been opened, announced the Eure prefecture.

Two anti-Semitic acts, in two days. Tuesday May 28, "a 15-year-old schoolboy was physically attacked and insulted by two individuals, cries of 'dirty Jew' in the'Eure", according to the press release from the prefecture.

The teenager was "attacked in front of his college in Nonancourt (north-west of Dreux, editor's note) by two other college students who carried him hits. He was given a four-day incapacity for work. This violence was allegedly followed by anti-Semitic insults in particular 'dirty Jew'".

In the case of the attack on the schoolboy, a flagrant investigation was opened for "violence aggravated because committed in a meeting , in front of a school and with anti-Semitic motivation", added the prosecutor.

The next day, Wednesday, "four graves of deceased people of the Jewish faith were soiled and degraded at the Madeleine cemetery in Évreux", indicates the prefecture in a press release.

"Anti-Semitic acts, as cowardly as they are infamous"

Questioned by AFP, the public prosecutor of Evreux, Rémi Coutin, explained that "black paint was been affixed to the stars of David present on the graves as well as to the names of the deceased", reported the magistrate, specifying that there is no link between the two cases.

"Anyone who harms our compatriots of the Jewish faith is harming the Republic and the fundamental base of our values. The prefect of Eure condemns in the most extreme firmness these anti-Semitic acts, as cowardly as they are infamous", informs the prefecture, indicating that "Reinforced security measures have already been taken".

Concerning the damage to the graves, "a flagrant investigation was opened for aggravated damage and entrusted to the Evreux police", indicated Mr. Coutin. "We have retained the following qualification for the cemetery affair: violation of burial ground due to religion, offense punishable by two years of imprisonment" , the magistrate said in the evening.