Source: Yahoo! News
Wire Service: Reuters
On August 10, 2004 Reuters reported, "Vandals daubed swastikas and slogans on 56 graves and a war memorial in a Jewish cemetery in eastern France, the latest in a spate of attacks on Jewish, Muslim and Christian property that have shocked France. The attackers also used black paint to scrawl slogans glorifying Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and declaring 'Resistance to the Islamist invasion' on some of the graves on Monday evening in a cemetery in Lyon, France's second city. President Jacques Chirac, the government, opposition and Jewish leaders on Tuesday condemned the attack, which prompted calls for tougher action to prevent such vandalism. More than 300 tombs or graves have been desecrated in eastern France since April -- many in Jewish cemeteries but also some Muslim and a few Christian graves -- despite a drive led by Chirac to eradicate racism and protect France's tolerant image... patience with the authorities is running out and alarm is growing among France's 600,000 Jews and five million Muslims -- western Europe's biggest Jewish and Muslim communities. 'A crackdown is needed to make these people (attackers) realize the consequences of their acts,' [Richard Wertenschlag, Lyon's chief rabbi] said."