‘Yellow vest’ protests condemned for Anti-Semitic abuse

PARIS: French officials on Sunday strongly condemned anti-Semitic abuse and anti-police attacks by some "yellow vest" demonstrators as hundreds gathered in central Paris to mark the third month of the anti-government protests.

Prosecutors have launched an investigation into a group of protesters who shouted anti-Semitic insults at philosopher and writer Alain Finkielkraut during demonstrations in the capital on Saturday.

In a separate incident, a police car stuck in a traffic jam in Lyon, southeastern France, was stoned by demonstrators. President Emmanuel Macron condemned the abuse directed at Finkielkraut, tweeting:

"The anti-Semitic insults he has been subjected to are the absolute negation of what we are and what makes us a great nation. We will not tolerate it." The abuse -- including protesters shouting "Dirty Zionist" and "France is ours" -- was caught on video and broadcast on television and social media.

The stoning incident in Lyon was also captured on video, with footage filmed from inside the police car showing dozens of protesters throwing stones at the vehicle. "We’re under attack and being stoned," reported a policeman.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner described the actions of the protesters as "intolerable". In Paris, 69-year-old Finkielkraut, who had voiced support for the "yellow vest" movement before later criticising it, denounced the protests as "grotesque" "I felt absolute hatred and, unfortunately, this is not the first time," Finkielkraut told Journal du Dimanche. "I no longer back these demonstrations, it’s becoming grotesque, it’s a movement that no longer knows how to stop," he said. "These demonstrations are a bit like the Golem (a mythical Jewish giant) it moves forward smashing all around it," he added.