French leaders from across most of the political spectrum denounced the pro-Palestinian demonstration that quickly degenerated into an anti-Semitic riot, with youths attacking two Synagogues and several Jewish-owned stores in a Paris suburb known for its large Jewish population.

“To attack a synagogue and a kosher grocery store is quite simply anti-Semitism and racism,” said Prime Minister Manuel Valls. 

Several hundred pro-Palestinian protestors gathered at the train station in Sarcelle, a northern suburb of the French capital.  But several broke off and tried to storm the local synagogue, pitting police against rioters with iron bars and wooden batons.  Someone tossed Molotov cocktails through the synagogue’s window, igniting a small fire that was rapidly brought under control.  The mob attacked another synagogue and several shops along the way.

“Nobody insults a human being because he is a Jew without being subject to abject condemnation,” said Claude Bartolone, president of the ruling Socialist Party.  “Nobody participates or supports an attack on a Jewish business without being part of a movement that threatens above all to lead civilization into barbarity.”

Opposition politicians also condemned the violence, but blamed the government for attempting to ban anti-Israel protests, saying that such a move merely provoked the lowlifes and anti-Semites to come out.

Episodes like this are likely to add to the unease felt by France’s Jewish community, the largest in Europe.  Far-right parties made troubling gains in the European Parliament elections.  Flagrantly anti-Semitic entertainer Dieudonne M'bala M'bala draws large audiences despite frequently being banned from performing. 

It’s adding up more Jews leaving France to live in Israel.  Last year, 3,288 French Jews left for Israel, a 72 percent increase from the year before, and the first time French emigres outnumbered those from the United States.  In the first three months of this year, 1,407 Jews left for Israel – four times more than for the same period in 2013.