France arrests Irish man who allegedly told Jews he wished Hitler had ‘finished the job’
In clip that went viral this month, man in Avignon supermarket threatens couple, who say he made antisemitic remark sparked by comment on anti-Israel politics in Ireland
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An Irish man accused of making antisemitic remarks to an Australian Jewish couple in a supermarket in France this month was arrested in Avignon on Wednesday, AFP reported.
The suspect, in his 30s, allegedly told the couple, “I’m sorry that Hitler didn’t finish the job.”
That remark was not captured on film; however, in a video taken after the alleged antisemitic comment, he can be heard telling the couple, one of whom is behind the camera: “You get away from me, before I put a fucking bullet in your head.”
“The Irishman approached us because my husband was wearing a French football top, and he obviously heard us chatting in English, and bantered ‘Why is an Englishman wearing a French shirt?’” recalled the Australian Jewish woman who filmed the video, according to X user Daniel Lewkovitz, who posted the video and attributed it to a “friend.”
The couple themselves have not been publicly identified.
“My husband answered in a friendly style that he’s an Australian, but liked the shirt and as we are traveling around France, he was happy to wear it. Then he introduced himself as ‘Paddy from Ireland’ and we gave our names and shook hands,” said the woman who filmed the clip, according to Lewkovitz.
The face of pure hatred. An Irish citizen visiting France, tells two Jewish visitors he's sorry Hitler didn't finish the job. They started videoing him and he threatens to kill them.
Identified himself as "Paddy from Ireland". pic.twitter.com/lzDFY7chtA
— Daniel (@ListenToLewko) August 11, 2026
“Then my husband said he wouldn’t wear an Irish shirt and Paddy agreed that their team was crap and started running down the Irish soccer team which we had no real knowledge of. I told him, ‘no it’s not that; it’s the Irish politics where they hold such anti Israel policies and support Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists,’” continued the quotation.
“His demeanor changed and he became aggressive, informing me ‘we all agree with that. And I’m sorry Hitler didn’t finish the job,’” the woman recalled, according to Lewkovitz. “At that point I retrieved my phone and started videoing.”
French Equality Minister Aurore Bergé condemned the man’s remarks after the video went viral, saying in a statement that the incident demonstrated “a chilling and unacceptable level of violence.”
“Such remarks, which explicitly invoke the memory of the Holocaust, must not be dismissed or tolerated,” Bergé said.
On Wednesday, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez commended the arrest, writing on X: “Well done to the gendarmes for their investigations conducted following antisemitic threats and remarks made in a Pontet supermarket against tourists this summer.”
“A suspect was able to be apprehended and will answer for his actions,” Nuñez wrote. “Antisemitism must be fought firmly and relentlessly.”
The clip went viral after it was posted earlier this month, racking up some million views within hours, according to the Ynet news site.
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