Russian jailed, banned from France over Nazi salute

A 19-year-old Russian man was sentenced to eight months in prison and permanently banned from French territory after making Nazi salutes near a synagogue in Sarcelles, north of Paris, prosecutors said Wednesday.

He was detained three days earlier in Sarcelles, a town with a large Jewish community, after being seen with two other people.

A French national of Ukrainian origin, who appeared in court with him on Tuesday, was sentenced to six months in prison. The Pontoise prosecutor's office said the court found the pair guilty of charges including glorifying terrorism.

Local residents saw the suspects taking photographs of themselves while performing Nazi salutes in front of the place of worship. The public prosecutor said surveillance footage and images recovered from one mobile phone showed the Russian national had performed a Nazi salute with another man who had not been arrested or identified.

Moise Kahloun, head of the Jewish community of Sarcelles, said he was satisfied with the ruling, calling it “the only way for us to overcome this surge of antisemitism.”

France has western Europe's largest Jewish population, at around half a million people. Members of France's Jewish community have said antisemitic acts have surged since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered Israel's military response in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.