Source: Haaretz
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/604592.html
On July 26, 2005 Haaretz reported, "The number of anti-Semitic acts committed in France fell sharply in the first half of this year from the same period in 2004, the Interior Ministry said yesterday ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Police recorded 290 acts targeting the Jewish community in the January-June period, including violent attacks as well as threats, down from 561 in the first six months of last year. The figures will make welcome reading for French President Jacques Chirac, who is due to meet Sharon tomorrow. Sharon sparked a row with Paris last year when he urged French Jews to emigrate to escape 'the wildest anti-Semitism'... France is home to Western Europe's biggest Jewish and Muslim communities and many anti-Jewish attacks in the country have been blamed on Muslim youths angry about the situation in the Middle East."