Macron Leads Vel d’Hiv Commemoration Amid Vandalism of Holocaust Rescuers’ Plaque

France has commemorated the 84th anniversary of the Vel d’Hiv roundup, one of the darkest episodes in the country’s history during the Holocaust, amid renewed concern over rising anti-Semitism following the vandalism of a Paris memorial honoring those who helped save Jews during the Nazi occupation. The annual ceremony brought together government officials, Holocaust survivors, Jewish community leaders and members of the public to remember more than 13,000 Jewish men, women and children arrested by French police in July 1942.

The commemoration took place just days after unidentified vandals defaced a plaque near the Wall of the Righteous at the Shoah Memorial in Paris. The plaque honors the French citizens who risked their lives to shelter and rescue Jews from deportation during World War II. Authorities condemned the act as an attack on France’s historical memory and opened a criminal investigation to identify those responsible.

During the ceremony, President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed France’s commitment to remembering the victims of the Holocaust and confronting anti-Semitism in all its forms. He described the desecration of the memorial as an assault not only on Jewish history but also on the values of the French Republic, stressing that remembrance remains essential to preventing hatred from taking root again.

The Vel d’Hiv roundup, carried out on 16 and 17 July 1942, saw French police arrest more than 13,000 Jews, including over 4,000 children, acting under orders from Nazi Germany. The detainees were held in the Vélodrome d’Hiver, an indoor cycling stadium in Paris, under appalling conditions before being deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. Fewer than 100 survived the war. Historians regard the roundup as one of the clearest examples of collaboration between France’s wartime Vichy government and Nazi authorities.

For decades after World War II, successive French governments avoided acknowledging the state’s role in the roundup, placing responsibility solely on the occupying Nazi regime. That changed in 1995, when then-President Jacques Chirac formally recognized the responsibility of the French state, calling the roundup an “irreparable” crime committed by France against its own people. His speech marked a turning point in the country’s reckoning with its wartime past.

The latest vandalism comes amid growing concern over anti-Semitic incidents across France. Jewish organizations have reported a sharp increase in hate crimes, threats and attacks since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, prompting authorities to strengthen security around synagogues, schools and Holocaust memorials. Officials say protecting sites of historical significance has become an increasingly important priority.

Representatives of France’s Jewish community and Holocaust remembrance groups said the attack on the plaque was particularly painful because it targeted a memorial dedicated to the “Righteous Among the Nations” ordinary French citizens who defied Nazi orders to protect Jews, often at great personal risk. They called for swift justice and renewed efforts to educate younger generations about the Holocaust and the dangers of intolerance.

As France reflected on one of the most tragic chapters in its history, Sunday’s ceremony served as both a tribute to the victims of the Vel d’Hiv roundup and a reminder that the fight against anti-Semitism remains an ongoing responsibility. The vandalism of the Paris memorial underscored the continuing importance of preserving historical memory and defending the values of tolerance, justice and human dignity.