Two fires set late last night at the home of a prominent human rights advocate and at a Jewish-owned factory are believed by police to be the work of neo-Nazi activists. Swastika armbands and neo-Nazi leaflets were found at both sites. There were no casualties but damage was heavy.
Henri Nogueres, the 64-year-old president of the League for Human Rights, and his family were not at home when fire broke out in their apartment in a fashionable district of Paris. Nogueres’ flat was severely damaged and that of his daughter in the same building was virtually destroyed. The factory also sustained heavy damage. Its walls were doubled with anti-Semitic slogans.
According to police sources, the arsonists are members of the recently outlawed Federation for European and National Action (FANE). The fires followed a bitter clash last week between members of FANE and members of the Jewish Defense Organization outside the Paris Criminal Court where FANE leader Marc Fredriksen, 46, was found guilty of spreading racial hatred and Nazi propaganda. His sentence is expected next month. The prosecution has asked for a suspended sentence.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
