February 27, 2006
An estimated 100,000 people, including government ministers and politicians of all major political forces, have joined in a show of unity against racism and anti-Semitism, and marched through the French capital Paris after the torture and killing of Jewish man Ilan Halimi two weeks ago. Smaller marches took place in other cities, including in Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseille and Bordeaux, where Archbishop Jean-Pierre Ricard, named a cardinal this week, joined in. Interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy, former prime minister Lionel Jospin as well as members of other parties were also present. Foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said that "Today, we must march, we must stand up, to say that in France each of us has the right to live in dignity whatever his God, his religion, the color of his skin." The march passed the mobile telephone shop where Ilan Halimi worked. Some demonstrators lit candles or released white balloons as they passed the shop while others sang the French national anthem or chanted Jewish prayers.
In Jerusalem, Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni said France and Israel must battle anti-Semitism together. "We are all shocked", she said. It showed that anti-Semitism was "not a matter only of the Jewish people and Israel, but affects the whole society in which it happens." France has Europe's largest Jewish community, as well as the largest Muslim community in Western Europe.
