Tens of thousands of French people march in Paris to protest against antisemitism. Photo: Screenshot
Nearly a year after the brutal gang rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl, the trial of three French boys accused in the case began Wednesday — a crime that deeply shook the local Jewish community amid a surge in antisemitism and drew international outrage.
As France continues to grapple with a surge in anti-Jewish hate crimes, a regional juvenile court in Nanterre, a suburb of western Paris, initiated a closed-door trial scheduled to run until Friday for the three assailants, all aged 13 to 14, accused in the attack.
Two of the three suspects are facing charges of group rape, physical violence, and death threats aggravated by antisemitic hatred. The third, the girl’s ex-boyfriend, is accused of threatening her and orchestrating the attack, also motivated by racist prejudice.
If convicted, the alleged rapists could face several years of incarceration in a juvenile facility.
However, because the girl’s ex-boyfriend was under 13 at the time of the attack, he will not face prison but will instead receive “educative measures” if found guilty.
According to police reports from the time, two French boys cornered the girl on June 15, 2024, inside an empty building in Courbevoie, a northwestern suburb of Paris, questioned her about her Jewish identity, and then physically assaulted and raped her.
The assailants also allegedly called her a “dirty Jew” and uttered other antisemitic remarks during the brutal gang-rape.
Local reports indicate that part of the assault was recorded, and at least one assailant allegedly demanded 200 euros from the girl to withhold the footage, which was eventually circulated.
The ex-boyfriend sent footage of the assault to a boy the girl had gone out with that afternoon, with the message “Look at your chick,” according to law enforcement. After receiving such a message, the boy informed the girl’s family, who found her an hour after the attack.
The brutal crime sparked outrage throughout France and among the Jewish community, unfolding against the backdrop of a disturbing surge in antisemitism that has gripped the country since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
At the time, French President Emmanuel Macron denounced the “scourge of antisemitism” and called on schools to hold discussions on racism and hatred of Jews.
Antisemitism in France continued to surge to alarming levels across the country last year, with 1,570 incidents recorded, according to a report by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) – the main representative body of French Jews.
The total number of antisemitic outrages in 2024 was a slight dip from 2023’s record total of 1,676, but it marked a striking increase from the 436 antisemitic acts recorded in 2022.
In late May and early June, antisemitic acts rose by more than 140 percent, far surpassing the weekly average of slightly more than 30 incidents.
The report also found that 65.2 percent of antisemitic acts last year targeted individuals, with more than 10 percent of these offenses involving physical violence.
The post French Teens Face Trial for Antisemitic Rape of 12-Year-Old Girl as Anti-Jewish Hate Crimes Rise first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Author: Ailin Vilches Arguello
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