Memorial stone for former synagogue vandalized in France

PARIS – French police are investigating after a memorial stone marking the site of a former synagogue destroyed by the Nazis was vandalized in the eastern city of Strasbourg.

The prefecture of the Bas-Rhin region said in a statement the heavy memorial stone was discovered moved from its base Saturday morning.

Strasbourg mayor Roland Ries denounced “a new anti-Semitic act.”

“Anti-Semitism undermines the values of the Republic”, the prefecture said.

The monument commemorates a synagogue built in 1898 that was set on fire and razed to the ground by the Nazis in 1940.

The incident comes amid an uptick in anti-Semitic acts in France in recent months. Last month, about 80 gravestones were spray-painted with swastikas in a Jewish cemetery close to Strasbourg.