LYON, Aug 10: Vandals daubed swastikas and slogans on 56 graves and a war memorial in a Jewish cemetery in eastern France, the latest in a spate of attacks on Jewish, Muslim and Christian property that have shocked France.
The attackers also used black paint to scrawl slogans glorifying Adolf Hitler and declaring "Resistance to the Islamist invasion" on some of the graves on Monday evening in a cemetery in Lyon, France's second city.
President Jacques Chirac, the government, opposition and Jewish leaders on Tuesday condemned the attack, which prompted calls for tougher action to prevent such vandalism.
More than 300 tombs or graves have been desecrated in eastern France since April - many in Jewish cemeteries but also some Muslim and a few Christian graves - despite a drive led by Chirac to eradicate racism and protect France's tolerant image.
"It is very symbolic to see graves that bear the Star of David defaced by a swastika," Richard Wertenschlag, Lyon's chief rabbi, said at the cemetery. "It's an indescribable shock."
He noted that the attack coincided with the 60th anniversary of France's liberation from Nazi occupation in World War Two and described it as an attack on the Jewish community.
Police said they were questioning two people who were in the area when a warden found the graffiti on Monday evening but had no evidence against them. They have failed to identify those responsible for the other recent attacks.
Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said the attack was odious, Chirac called it cowardly and Justice Minister Dominique Perben visited the cemetery. All expressed solidarity with the Jewish community and vowed to fight anti-Semitism. - Reuters
