A 14-year-old boy in France was violently assaulted and called a “dirty y*d” as he was leaving a synagogue, according to French media.
An adult man approached the teenager, who was not wearing any identifiable Jewish clothing or symbols, to ask for a cigarette before launching into antisemitic slurs and striking the boy, according to French daily newspaper Le Figaro.
According to a complaint filed by the boy, the man struck the boy at least twice, once to trip the boy over and then kicking him on the ground, while calling him a “dirty Jew” and a “dirty Y*d”.
The brutal attack, which occurred on Friday evening, took place just a few metres away from the shul on Rue Crillon, not far from downtown Lyon.
The teenager, who eventually managed to escape after striking the man with his knee, was given two days of sick leave for his injuries.
A 14-YEAR-OLD JEWISH BOY ATTACKED IN FRANCE 🇫🇷
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) August 27, 2025
Last Friday night, Samuel, 14, was violently assaulted in Lyon as he left the synagogue.
The attacker jumped on him, shouting “dirty Jew, filthy race,” and began beating him. He tried to knock Samuel down to continue the assault.…
An investigation has been opened by the Lyon prosecutor’s office to establish the circumstances of the incident, according to French paper Le Progres.
Mohamed Chihi, deputy delegate for security to the mayor of Lyon, said: “An adult who attacks a 14-year-old child because he is Jewish: that is the embodiment of cowardice and hatred. In Lyon, as in France, antisemitism and all forms of racism and hatred are poisons that attack the Republic. They will not pass.”
Local authorities are appealing for witnesses or footage of the incident.
In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron said “protecting France’s Jewish citizens from the rise in antisemitism has been an absolute priority of mine from day one.”
The French head of state was responding to Netanyahu’s concern about the “alarming rise” in antisemitism in France. Netanyahu accused France of pouring “fuel on this antisemitic fire” by planning to recognise Palestinian statehood in September.
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