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Irishman arrested following antisemitic threats in Avignon supermarket
Man in his sixties, who cannot be named for legal reasons, allegedly told Australian Jewish couple that Hitler should have 'finished the job'
An Irishman in his sixties, suspected of having made antisemitic threats against an Australian Jewish tourist couple in a supermarket in mid-August in southern France, was arrested on Wednesday, according to AFP.
The outlet reports that the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was detained in Avignon and remains in custody in Marseille.
He was identified from a video which swiftly went viral on social media, where a man is shown speaking to Australian tourists while shopping in Vaucluse, Avignon on Tuesday 11 August.
Details of the confrontation were first reported by The Jerusalem Post, which spoke to the Australian Jewish Association (AJA) and obtained the couple’s account of what happened.
According to the couple, the man approached them after noticing the husband was wearing a French football shirt and began chatting with them in English.
The conversation reportedly changed after they criticised Irish attitudes towards Israel.
The couple said the man responded: “We all agree with that. And I’m sorry Hitler didn’t finish the job!”
One of the tourists then began filming him.
In the footage, the man can be seen walking through the supermarket before turning towards the camera and saying: “You get the f*** away from me before I put a f***ing bullet in your head, okay?”
Responding on Thursday 13 August, French tourism minister Serge Papin and equality minister Aurore Bergé condemned the threats “in the strongest possible terms”.
In a joint statement, the officials said the couple “was violently confronted in a supermarket in France by an Irish national” who made “serious antisemitic remarks before issuing death threats” against them. “Part of this scene, filmed and widely shared on social media, testifies to a violence that is as chilling as it is unacceptable.”
Following news of the arrest, on Wednesday 26 August French Minister of the Interior Laurent Nuñez posted on Twitter/X: “Well done to the gendarmes for their investigations conducted following antisemitic threats and remarks made in a Pontet hypermarket against tourists this summer. A suspect was able to be apprehended and will answer for his actions. Antisemitism must be fought firmly and relentlessly.”
The man could potentially face up to five years in prison.
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