Religion-based hate crimes in France soar after Israeli war on Gaza: data

Racist, xenophobic and religion-based hate crimes surged 32 percent in France last year, government figures have shown, with a spike following the start of the Israeli war on Gaza in October.

Police recorded 8,500 crimes and misdemeanours "committed because of the ethnicity, nationality, supposed race or religion" of the victim across 2023, the Interior Ministry's Statistics Service (SSMSI) said on Wednesday.

The statisticians highlighted "a marked acceleration towards the end of the year" –– coinciding with the period following Hamas's October 7 operation on Israel and the state's devastating bombardment campaign in Gaza.

There were twice as many crimes and misdemeanours recorded in October-December as in the same period in 2022.

"The increase can be seen from October, with a level of offences holding at the same high level in November before falling back in December," the report said.

Crimes in Paris high

The SSMSI did not break down its figures by religion of the victim.

Most racist, xenophobic or anti-religious acts were "provocations, insults and defamation", the report found.

Men, people aged between 25 and 54, and citizens of African countries were especially targeted, it added.

But only four percent of the victims filed a criminal complaint.

While the rate of hate crimes in Paris was almost three times higher than the national average, the report noted that the capital sees far more transit of foreigners and people from elsewhere in France than other areas, which could partly explain the difference.