'Yes, Jews of France are afraid to wear the kippa, go to synagogue, send their children to public school'

French prime minister says he understands Jews’ fear

Manuel Valls voices ‘solidarity’ with French Jewry, calls community’s current tense situation ‘a reality we do not accept’

By AP 8 March 2016, 2:04 am

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French Prime Minister Manuel Valls delivers a speech during the annual dinner of the Representative Council of France's Jewish Associations (CRIF) in Paris on March 7, 2016. (AFP / POOL / Michel Euler)

France’s Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls says he understands French Jews’ fear amid heightened religious tension in the country after attacks by Islamic extremists in Paris last year.

Valls expressed his “solidarity” toward French Jews and strongly condemned anti-Semitism whether it comes from the “far-left” or the “far-right” at an event Monday organized by the country’s main Jewish organization.

“Yes, Jews of France are afraid to wear the kippa (the traditional skull cap), to go to the synagogue, to do shopping in a kosher market, to send their children to public school. That’s a reality, and a reality we do not accept,” Valls said at the annual dinner of the CRIF Jewish Council.

Many high ranking French politicians as well as Catholic and Muslim religious leaders attended the event.