Killing of Jewish man puts crime in focus ahead of French vote
The death of a Jewish man killed in a possible anti-Semitic attack has placed crime at the heart of France's presidential election campaign just days ahead of voting.
Pushed by far-right candidate Eric Zemmour, a viral video showing Jeremy Cohen being run over by a tram while being chased by a gang northeast of Paris in February prompted President Emmanuel Macron to weigh into the controversy.
"We have all been devastated by the scenes that have been made public and I want to express my solidarity and my support for the family of Jeremy Cohen," Macron told reporters on a pre-election visit to Brittany.
He called for "complete clarity" over what happened while urging that Cohen's death does not become the subject of "political manipulations".
A member of Macron's office had also spoken to the victim's father, who has alleged that prosecutors were slow to take up the case and properly investigate the death.
France has witnessed a number of shocking anti-Semitic robberies and murders in recent years, in addition to jihadist attacks that have seen the Jewish community targeted.
The country votes on Sunday in presidential elections that polls indicate are likely to be a contest between Macron and far-right veteran Marine Le Pen, who is gaining momentum.
Though crime and immigration were major themes during campaigning last year, they have been eclipsed by worries about the rising cost of living and the current war in Ukraine.
Viral video
Cohen's father, Gerald, told the TMPM show on Canal+ on Monday night that his children had had to put up posters themselves appealing for witnesses.
They tracked down a video showing Cohen being punched and then pursued by a gang of around 10 people, which has since gone viral on social media.
"We didn't understand what was happening because we had confidence in the justice system," Gerald Cohen said. "We didn't understand why we had to collect the evidence, why we had to do all this."
Zemmour, who is of Jewish origin, tweeted: "Is he dead because he was Jewish? Why has this scandal been covered up?"
The local prosecutor's office in Bobingy said a probe had been opened to determine the cause of his death, and a second homicide investigation began in late March.
Cohen wore the kippa skullcap as a cultural signifier and was identifiable as Jewish, but his father has also said he might have been targeted because of his "light" mental handicap.
"We can't rule out an anti-Semitic motive, but we can't conclude that this was an anti-Semitic crime," the family's lawyer Franck Serfati told TPMP.
While Zemmour and Le Pen both suggested the crime had been covered up, hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon said "the question that needs to be asked is why families need to do their own investigations.
"Normally it's the police," he said.
Bobigny is part of the Seine-Saint-Denis department, France's poorest area with the highest levels of violent crime on the mainland, according to official statistics.
Zemmour has called it "a foreign enclave" and a symbol of the "colonisation" of France by immigrants.
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Pushed by far-right candidate Eric Zemmour, a viral video showing Jeremy Cohen being run over by a tram while being chased by a gang northeast of Paris in February prompted President Emmanuel Macron to weigh into the controversy.
"We have all been devastated by the scenes that have been made public and I want to express my solidarity and my support for the family of Jeremy Cohen," Macron told reporters on a pre-election visit to Brittany.
He called for "complete clarity" over what happened while urging that Cohen's death does not become the subject of "political manipulations".
A member of Macron's office had also spoken to the victim's father, who has alleged that prosecutors were slow to take up the case and properly investigate the death.
France has witnessed a number of shocking anti-Semitic robberies and murders in recent years, in addition to jihadist attacks that have seen the Jewish community targeted.
The country votes on Sunday in presidential elections that polls indicate are likely to be a contest between Macron and far-right veteran Marine Le Pen, who is gaining momentum.
Though crime and immigration were major themes during campaigning last year, they have been eclipsed by worries about the rising cost of living and the current war in Ukraine.
Viral video
Cohen's father, Gerald, told the TMPM show on Canal+ on Monday night that his children had had to put up posters themselves appealing for witnesses.
They tracked down a video showing Cohen being punched and then pursued by a gang of around 10 people, which has since gone viral on social media.
"We didn't understand what was happening because we had confidence in the justice system," Gerald Cohen said. "We didn't understand why we had to collect the evidence, why we had to do all this."
Zemmour, who is of Jewish origin, tweeted: "Is he dead because he was Jewish? Why has this scandal been covered up?"
The local prosecutor's office in Bobingy said a probe had been opened to determine the cause of his death, and a second homicide investigation began in late March.
Cohen wore the kippa skullcap as a cultural signifier and was identifiable as Jewish, but his father has also said he might have been targeted because of his "light" mental handicap.
"We can't rule out an anti-Semitic motive, but we can't conclude that this was an anti-Semitic crime," the family's lawyer Franck Serfati told TPMP.
While Zemmour and Le Pen both suggested the crime had been covered up, hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon said "the question that needs to be asked is why families need to do their own investigations.
"Normally it's the police," he said.
Bobigny is part of the Seine-Saint-Denis department, France's poorest area with the highest levels of violent crime on the mainland, according to official statistics.
Zemmour has called it "a foreign enclave" and a symbol of the "colonisation" of France by immigrants.
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