France held commemorations on Sunday to honor the victims of the Vel d’Hiv roundup, a dark historical event in 1942 that remains one of the most shameful actions taken by the nation’s wartime government. The event, which involved French police arresting thousands of Jewish people over two days, saw families torn apart as children were separated from their mothers before being sent to Nazi death camps.
The commemoration takes place against a backdrop of increasing antisemitism in France, which hosts Europe's largest Jewish population. Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza, the country has experienced a surge in threats, physical violence, and acts of vandalism. The recent defacement of a plaque honoring rescuers served as a grim reminder of these tensions. Deputy defense minister Alice Rufo condemned the act, stating, "To attack the Righteous is to desecrate the entire universe. The plaque will be restored. Their memory remains undiminished. In the face of antisemitism, in all its forms, the Republic will not yield an inch."
The name "Vel d’Hiv" refers to the Winter Velodrome, where many detainees were held before their deportation to concentration and extermination camps. During the operation on July 16 and 17, 1942, more than 4,500 police officers were mobilized, and dozens of buses were requisitioned to carry out the arrests. These actions continued through July 20, resulting in the deportation of 13,152 people, one-third of whom were children. During this period, France was governed by the Vichy regime, which collaborated with Nazi Germany following the 1940 invasion.
It took five decades for the French state to officially acknowledge its responsibility for the Holocaust. This formal recognition finally occurred when then-President Jacques Chirac offered an apology for the role French authorities played in the Vel d’Hiv raids.
