Macron decries ‘antisemitic hydra’ in French society at memorial for 2006 Jewish murder victim

France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during a ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of the murder of Ilan Halimi, a 23-year-old French Jew who was tortured and murdered in 2006, at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on February 13, 2026. (Bertrand GUAY / POOL / AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during a ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of the murder of Ilan Halimi, a 23-year-old French Jew who was tortured and murdered in 2006, at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on February 13, 2026. (Bertrand GUAY / POOL / AFP)

PARIS, France — French President Emmanuel Macron denounces what he described as an “antisemitic hydra” that had crept into “every crack” of society as he commemorated Ilan Halimi, a French Jewish man tortured to death in 2006.

Macron decries what he called “Islamist antisemitism” behind the attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, by the Hamas terror group, “far-left antisemitism… which rivals that of the far right,” and “antisemitism that uses the mask of anti-Zionism to advance quietly.”

He also says he wants “mandatory electoral bans” for officials guilty of “antisemitic, racist, and discriminatory acts and remarks.”

“Government and parliament will work to strengthen the penalties for antisemitic and racist acts,” he says, without elaborating.

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