Macron calls for ‘clarity’ in Jewish man’s death after antisemitism allegations
French president Emmanuel Macron is expressing solidarity with the family of a Jewish man killed in February, but does not back claims that the death was motivated by antisemitism.
Jeremy Cohen was run over by a tram after fleeing attackers.
In February, Jeremy Cohen was killed by a tram in a Paris suburb. At the time, police treated it as a road accident.
Now, a new video has emerged showing him being chased by a mob and his family are calling on police to investigate it as an antisemitic attack. pic.twitter.com/tErbi52cBN
— The Jewish Chronicle (@JewishChron) April 4, 2022
“We have all been devastated by the scenes that have been made public and I want to express my solidarity and my support for the family of Jeremy Cohen,” Macron tells reporters on a pre-election visit to Brittany.
He calls for “complete clarity” over what happened while urging that Cohen’s death does not become the subject of “political manipulations.”
Cohen’s death has seeped into France’s presidential election this week after Jewish candidate Eric Zemmour tweeted about it.
A member of Macron’s office has also spoken to the victim’s father, Gerald Cohen, who has alleged that prosecutors were slow to take up the case and properly investigate the death.
Cohen’s father, Gerald, told the TMPM show on Canal+ on Monday night that his children had had to put up posters themselves appealing for witnesses.
They tracked down a video showing Cohen being punched and then pursued by a gang of around 10 people, which has since gone viral on social media.
“We didn’t understand what was happening because we had confidence in the justice system,” Gerald Cohen said. “We didn’t understand why we had to collect the evidence, why we had to do all this.”
