French Prime Minister vows to fight anti-Semitism 

The French Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, has pledged to boost police numbers and hand down stiff sentences to those who commit anti-Semitic acts, in order to combat growing attacks on Jewish symbols and people in France. Speaking at the annual dinner of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF) on Saturday, Mr. Raffarin said that the rise of anti-Semitic violence in France since 2000 must be faced with "lucidity and determination and without false appearances".  He also said that schools were a key place to fight racism and anti-Semitism, and that culture also had an essential role.