Anti-Semitic rape of girl in France

TT-AFP

Updated 13.33 | Published 12.42

Demonstrations in Paris in May after another anti-Semitic act, when a man set fire to a synagogue in the city of Rouen. Archive image. Photo: Nicholas Garriga/AP/TT

A twelve-year-old Jewish girl was brutally raped this weekend in a suburb of Paris.

Now two teenagers have been detained for the gang rape, which is said to have had anti-Semitic overtones. The crime increases tensions ahead of France's upcoming new elections.

The girl was attacked in a park in Courbevoie on Saturday evening. Three boys, one twelve and two 13 years old, dragged her into a shed and abused her. They then brutally raped the girl. According to the police, the boys uttered death threats and anti-Semitic slurs during the act.

On Monday, the three perpetrators were arrested. Both teenagers were arrested and detained on Tuesday evening. The third boy, who is not suspected of having participated in the rape itself, was released.

The brutal rape has shocked France's Jewish population. Since the war in Gaza broke out in October, France has seen a threefold increase in anti-Semitic incidents, according to official figures.

The mayor of Courbevoie has condemned the act in the strongest terms and called for the perpetrators to be brought "to the full force of the law", regardless of their age.

The rape has also fueled tensions ahead of the country's upcoming new elections. The election, the first round of which is held on June 30, is expected to end in the far-right National Assembly (RN) coming to power for the first time.

Photo: Michel Euler / AP