Wiesenthal Centre Commends French Authorities for Rapid Arrest in Case of Paris Swastikas

October 12, 2020

Paris – Wiesenthal Centre Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, commended the rapid arrest of the suspect who painted some 20 red swastikas in the rue de Rivoli around the Louvre Museum in central Paris, over the weekend.

"During the German occupation in World War II, the rue de Rivoli had red Nazi swastika flags flying along its entire. The headquarters of the Military Governor of Paris (Gauleiter) was situated in the Hotel Meurice on that street... It was an eerie to see swastikas back," stressed Samuels. 

The charged suspect is apparently in his early thirties and born in Georgia.

Paris Mayor, Anne Hidalgo, stated, “preventing such intolerable acts is part of our mission... cleaning teams will intervene quickly to erase all traces of these messages.”

The Centre also backs French Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin’s “thanks to the Police for its rapid response.”

“Now we only await a similar approach from the judiciary to refuse – too often in recent cases – an acceptance of such behaviour on grounds of psychiatric issues or narcotic/alcohol intoxication,” concluded Samuels.

For further information, contact Dr. Samuels at csweurope@gmail.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed. 

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).