Anti-semitic attacks rattle France

PARIS - No organized element appears to be behind the many anti-Semitic attacks in France recently, police said Tuesday, as 10 of 39 people questioned in the incidents remain in custody. <br> <br> Alain Tourre, a police spokesman at the Interior Ministry, said many of the suspects have police records for other crimes, including vandalism, theft, violence or selling drugs. <br> <br> They do not appear to be ``organized or politicized, nor are they members of anti-Zionist groups,&#39;&#39; he said Tuesday. Some are minors. <br> <br> The attacks have coincided with an escalation in Middle East violence and have heightened tension between French Jews and the country&#39;s large Muslim community. <br> <br> Synagogues, schools and cemeteries around the country have been targeted, often with firebombs. In the most serious case, a Marseille synagogue was burned to the ground on March 31. <br> <br> On Monday, French President Jacques Chirac condemned the attacks but said he doesn&#39;t believe his country is anti-Semitic. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s an indisputable fact that there have been anti-Semitic acts, alas, and they must be prevented, punished and severely condemned,&#39;&#39; the president told Frequence Juive, a Jewish radio station. ``But I don&#39;t believe that the French people are becoming anti-Semitic.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in France on Sunday to protest the anti-Jewish violence. A march in Paris drew more than 50,000 people, and police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of pro-Israel militants who fought with up to 500 counter-demonstrators.

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