Swastikas were discovered on the morning of December 28 on 67 graves in the cemetery of Fontainebleau in Seine-et-Marne. The prosecution opened an investigation.
About sixty graves in the municipal cemetery of Fontainebleau (Seine-et-Marne) were desecrated “by swastikas” on the night of December 27 to 28, AFP learned from corroborating sources.
“67 old or more recent stelae have been vandalized by swastikas, pink, white and silver,” the mayor (Agir) of Fontainebleau, Frédéric Valletoux, told AFP.
#Fontainebleau. I am scandalized and disgusted by the discovery this morning of very many graves desecrated by swastikas. Despicable and disgusting acts against which I will file a complaint. Our cemetery had never been the target of such crimes pic.twitter.com/Fm02RvWptm
– Frédéric Valletoux (@fredvalletoux) December 28, 2020
The Jewish cemetery, located next to the city’s main cemetery, has not been desecrated, according to the Fontainebleau prosecutor’s office, which opened an investigation for “degradation of graves”. “No claim and no spray paint were found on the spot,” said the prosecution.
Strange inscriptions “Biobananas” and “Charles” were also tagged on the graves but “no anti-Semitic inscriptions”, underlined the mayor, who announced the next filing of a complaint by the town hall.
According to the media Actu.fr, similar tags were discovered in November in the city of Melun (Seine-et-Marne), 15 kilometers north of Fontainebleau. Contacted by AFP on December 28, the town hall and the prosecutor’s office in Melun did not respond immediately.
Consternation on Twitter
On Twitter, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin declared himself “disgusted by the desecration of the cemetery”, stressing that “everything will be done to find the perpetrators of this ignominy”.
Disgusted by the desecration of the cemetery of #Fontainebleau covered with swastikas.
Everything will be done to find the authors of this ignominy.
We will not let anything go by in the face of those who pour out hatred. https://t.co/tnFoFK0scy– Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) December 28, 2020
“Abject, odious … words are not enough to condemn these profanations which remind us, once again, of the importance of our fight against hatred”, also reacted Christophe Castaner, president of the LREM group at the Assembly national.
Abject, odious … words are not enough to condemn these profanations, which remind us, once again, of the importance of our fight against hatred.
Without ever compromising; without ever negotiating. https://t.co/IcY86eGsor
– Christophe Castaner (@CCastaner) December 28, 2020
For Valérie Pécresse, president of the Ile-de-France region, this desecration is a “despicable act” carried out by “neo-Nazis”.
“The perpetrators of these heinous acts must be arrested and heavily condemned,” tweeted the mayor (PS) of Alfortville (Val-de-Marne) Luc Carvounas.