American Marconi Wireless News - Stars of David graffiti in Paris aim 'to terrify'

The Jewish symbol was painted in multiple spots across several building fronts in a southern district of Paris, an AFP journalist saw.

Similar tags appeared over the weekend in suburbs of the city including Vanves, Fontenay-aux-Roses and Aubervilliers.

In another nearby town of Saint-Ouen they were accompanied by inscriptions such as "Palestine will overcome".

The Union of Jewish Students of France said they were designed to mirror the way Jews were forced to wear the stars by the Nazi regime.

"This act of marking recalls the processes of the 1930s and the Second World War which led to the extermination of millions of Jews," its president Samuel Lejoyeux told AFP.

"The people who did this clearly wanted to terrify," he added.

The mayor of Aubervilliers, Karine Franclet, condemned the graffiti as being "in total contradiction with the fundamental values that we hold, including tolerance, equality and mutual respect, particularly in the current context."

Saint-Ouen town hall has made a complaint to the public prosecutor.

"The perpetrators must be prosecuted and punished by the courts with the greatest severity and intransigence," said Mayor Karim Bouamrane on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Israel has bombarded the Palestinian territory of Gaza since the October 7 attacks by Hamas militants, which killed around 1,400 people, according to Israeli officials.

More than 8,500 people have been killed in Gaza, the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory said in its latest toll.

S.Gregor--AMWN