2023-11-29 05:00:00
More than 200 Stars of David were sprayed on the walls of Paris during the month of October, a few weeks following the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
This manifestation of anti-Semitism was denounced by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne – “despicable actions” – and by a number of French political figures.
The newspaper The world reports that for the French intelligence services, this is an influence operation orchestrated by Russia. Their investigation reveals that the sponsors of these hateful acts are not Arab-Muslims.
Police first arrested a Moldovan couple in connection with the graffiti. The two suspects worked with a third individual who took photos of the graffiti, which quickly found their way online. According to French authorities, the arrested couple admitted to being paid by the Russian-speaking individual for the vandalism. Another Moldovan couple also wanted for having graffitied Stars of David in Paris has fled abroad. One of the couples is suspected of having already carried out identical missions in other countries.
French police and intelligence services also blame a Russian propaganda outlet called Recent Reliable News (RRN) for disseminating photos of the Star of David on social media. Russian-speaking Telegram accounts also relayed images of graffiti presented as anti-Semitic.
Kisses from Moscow
In its press release on this subject, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs speaks of a disinformation campaign intended “to undermine French social cohesion”. Paris affirms that “this new operation of Russian digital interference once morest France testifies to the persistence of an opportunistic and irresponsible strategy aimed at exploiting international crises to sow confusion and create tensions in the public debate in France and in Europe” . It might also happen in Canada.
The Russian government has – as was to be expected – formally denied its participation in the affair.
The newspaper The world and Europe 1 radio reported that the operation was allegedly led by telephone from Russia by pro-Russian Moldovan businessman Anatoli Prizenko. He also allegedly ensured the online distribution of the photos on the Russian propaganda network RRN/Doppelgänger.
Contacted by the BFMTV channel, Prizenko assured that his objective was to support the Jewish community in France and said he was “shocked” that “politicians and the media in France interpreted this as an anti-Semitic act”. The newspaper Release nevertheless found messages from Prizenko of an anti-Semitic nature on social networks.
Russia in Montreal as in Paris
I see similarities between this disinformation operation in Paris and what is currently happening in Montreal. Relatively minor acts of vandalism and violence, widely reported by the media, are – rightly – worrying the Jewish community and the authorities. These acts of violence (Molotov cocktails, gunshots) target deserted buildings rather than people. They are intended to scare and provoke responses. Their objective? As in France, sow discord, undermine social cohesion.
Ottawa and Paris condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, to which they provide weapons to defend itself. If the police ever manage to arrest the culprits, we’ll see if the Russians tried to do the same thing here.
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