Law enforcement authorities in France have initiated a criminal inquiry into the conduct of a refreshment stand proprietor who was captured on video telling a Jewish individual near Lyon that there were “too many Jews” and that the situation “upsets people,” Interior Minister Laurent Nu\u00f1ez stated, according to JNS.<\/p>\n
The footage from the establishment, which began circulating online on Friday, depicts a middle-aged woman with blonde hair leaning against a checkout register counter rolling a cigarette as she talks with a patron. <\/p>\n
During the exchange, she said to him, “There are too many of you.” Upon his inquiry regarding who she was referring to, she replied, “The Jewish community,” adding that this “upsets people.” <\/p>\n
The customer appears to state that the owner refused to serve him, telling another bystander: “There are laws, madame, to say we won\u2019t be admitted because we\u2019re Jewish….” <\/p>\n
Minister Nu\u00f1ez indicated that the encounter occurred at a venue in Les Deux Alpes, situated in the vicinity of Is\u00e8re and Lyon.<\/p>\n
After the recording spread rapidly across social media platforms, police opened an official investigation.<\/p>\n
Aurore Berg\u00e9, the Cabinet minister overseeing Gender Equality and Combating Discrimination, released a statement on Saturday clarifying that the video captured “tourists who were denied access to a refreshment stand at a resort in Is\u00e8re.” She further asserted, “Such antisemitic conduct and remarks cannot be tolerated.”<\/p>\n
Berg\u00e9 confirmed that the woman making the comments is the proprietor of the refreshment counter, writing, “She has been summoned and will be questioned by the National Gendarmerie this afternoon.”<\/p>\n
In her statement, Berg\u00e9 emphasized, “No antisemitic act, racist act or act of hatred can be tolerated. Antisemitism and racism are not opinions; they are criminal offenses. I will intervene systematically to ensure that nothing is overlooked and to uphold our laws and values.”<\/p>\n