Police are hunting for a man who stabbed and wounded a Jewish woman in the French city of Lyon on Saturday, according to local media.
The victim, believed to be in her 30s, is said to have heard the doorbell ring at her home before being attacked by the assailant when she opened the door.
The attacker then allegedly defaced the victim’s door with a swastika before fleeing the scene. He remained at large as of Saturday evening.
The woman was taken to a local hospital to be treated for stab wounds, according to the Times of Israel. Her injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
Lyon Mayor Gregory Doucet wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Such an act of violence is unthinkable. I offer all my support to the victim and her relatives.”
Stéphane Drai, the woman’s lawyer, said on BFMTV: “The victim, her family and the Jewish community are shocked... When we opened the door, we did not know that we could be the victim of an anti-Semitic attack, which could amount to an attempted murder.”
The attack comes amid a global surge in anti-Semitic violence following Hamas’ terror attacks on October 7, which left 1,400 Israelis dead.
There have been more than 850 anti-Semitic acts in France since the Hamas attack, according to the country’s interior minister Gerald Darmanin.
Separately, French prosecutors opened a probe on Wednesday over a video showing a group of youths chanting anti-Semitic slogans on a train in Paris.
“Shocking, unacceptable, unworthy comments,” Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said on X, adding that all would be done to identify those involved, while Transport Minister Clement Beaune said the government would be firm.
