Macron vows to punish antisemitic ‘hatred’ after memorial tree cut down

The cutting down of an olive tree planted in memory of a young French Jewish man tortured to death in 2006 stirred outrage in France on Friday, with President Emmanuel Macron vowing punishment over an act of antisemitic “hatred”.

Politicians across the political spectrum condemned the act as an attack against the memory of Ilan Halimi, who was kidnapped by a gang of around 20 youths in January 2006 and tortured in a low-income housing estate in the Paris suburb of Bagneux.

Found three weeks later, the 23-year-old died on the way to hospital.

An olive tree, planted in 2011 in Halimi’s memory, was cut down, probably with a chainsaw, on Wednesday night in the northern Paris suburb of Epinay-sur-Seine.

The incident stoked fresh concerns about an increase in antisemitic acts and hate crimes