French police are hunting those responsible for posting thousands of antisemitic messages at the runner-up of this year’s Miss France beauty contest after she revealed her father was from Israel.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed he had “mobilised the police and the gendarmerie” to investigate the racist posts directed at April Benayoum, who mentioned her father was Israeli during the final of the contrast.

Among the 40,000 tweets sent to the 21-year-old after her appearance on Saturday night’s contest were references to Hitler and death camps.

Renaud Muselier, president of the Provence region, said the abuse was “an abomination” and added: “She is French, with Italian and Israeli origins and she is a south Provencale. She perfectly represents our region and our country.”

Minister for Citizenship Marlène Schiappa condemned “the antisemitic remarks of an unheard-of violence all evening” against Ms Benayoum.

The contest was watched by more than eight million people, one of the highest recent audiences for TF1, the biggest TV channel.

Amandine Petit, a 23-year-old student from Normandy, was voted Miss France. The contest is still respected in the country, despite opposition from campaigners.

Publishing antisemitic remarks carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a €45,000 fine.