Eight minors appeared in French courts for anti-Semitic chants on the Paris metro.
Footage of the group of youths singing “F*ck the Jews and f*ck your mother, long live Palestine” and “F*ck the Jews and the grandmothers, we are Nazis and proud” on 31 October went viral on French social media, provoking widespread outrage.
Police arrested the eight this week for advocating terrorism, public insult based on belonging to a specific ethnic group or religion, and public incitement to hatred.
Propos choquants, inadmissibles, indignes : le préfet de police les a signalés par article 40 au @parquetdeparis.
➡️ Nous ne laisserons rien passer. Tous les moyens d’investigations sont mis en œuvre pour retrouver rapidement les auteurs. pic.twitter.com/tdlyQP6h4W— Préfecture de Police (@prefpolice) November 1, 2023
They have since appeared in courts in Bobigny and Nanterre, charged with promoting and justifying a crime against humanity and public insults based on religion.
All eight will appear before a children’s judge in the near future, with one of them appearing again 2 January, prosecutors say. The prosecutors requested a judicially-supervised education sentence.
"N***** les juifs (…), on est des nazis et on est fiers!" Ligne 3 du métro de Paris, le 31/10/2023.
Cet antisémitisme décomplexé et abject avait choqué tous les Français.
Ce lundi à 06H00, les policiers ont réveillé à l’aube, 8 suspects mineurs, interpellés pour apologie du… pic.twitter.com/2ZPdpdsHGH— Matthieu Valet (@mvalet_officiel) November 13, 2023
Two of the minors have been convicted previously of minor crimes.
Ilyacine Maallaoui, the lawyer representing three of the youths, says they are aware of the grave nature of their actions.
“My clients are obviously aware of the seriousness of the comments made in this metro and their unacceptable nature,” he says.
He claims there were “almost twenty” people on the train chanting, so responsibility could not be laid at the feet of any one person.
Nevertheless, “each of my clients will bear the weight of their words, no more and no less,” he says.
Are we again seeing ‘mass formation’ neuroses in Europe over Palestine? asks @jrfjeffrey.@realzoestrimpel | @DesmetMattias | @ArtaMoeini | @PhoneyMajor | @tabletmag
https://t.co/sZ5SPVSo9E— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) November 14, 2023
