Today's Date:

On Monday, 17 November, President Chirac chaired a select Council of Ministers’ meeting to determine the measures to be taken in order to strengthen the fight against anti-Semitism.

In view of an earlier upsurge in anti-Semitic acts, the Government had already instituted a number of provisions since May 2002 in coordination with representatives of France’s Jewish community.

In February 2003, the Lellouche Act was passed, making it possible to impose harsher penalties on acts of a racist and anti-Semitic nature.

Several recent events led the Prime Minister to propose, in the course of this meeting, the creation of an interministerial committee to fight racism and anti-Semitism, which will meet monthly under his chairmanship.

1. – The Interior Minister will send specific instructions to préfets [high-ranking civil servants who represent the State at departmental or regional level] to strengthen security at places of worship and schools.

These will be designed to create closer ties between those responsible for public order and the representatives of the Jewish community.

Likewise, municipalities will be alerted to the need for surveillance equipment on public roads near those establishments.

2. – The Justice Minister will order public prosecutors’ offices to ensure that cases are tried much more rapidly than at present, and that immediate summary trials in simple criminal cases [i.e. where no further investigations are required] take place whenever possible.

Furthermore, for each prosecutor-general, a law officer will be appointed to liaise with the Jewish community, to oversee criminal proceedings and to provide more extensive information on sentencing, in order to underscore the exemplary nature of the punishments.

Those in charge of places of worship and schools will receive information in the coming days on their rights in the event of attacks or acts of depredation.

3. – The Education Minister will send directives to chief education officers aimed at preventing acts of violence, threats and racist or anti-Semitic remarks in schools, and at educating pupils and students on respecting the fundamental values of the Republic.

A liaison officer will be appointed in each education authority to deal with actions of this nature and to liaise with representatives of the Jewish community. The Education Ministry’s Inspectorate-General will pay particular attention to the content of textbooks.

The Minister will be convening a meeting with publishers in the near future to heighten their awareness of this issue./.