France: Two Indicted After Jewish Man Was Killed by a Tram During Mob Attack

Chris TomlinsonApril 16, 2022

Two men have been indicted by a French prosecutor following the death of a Jewish man who was beaten and chased by a mob before being hit and killed by a tram in the suburbs of Paris.

The prosecutor of Bobigny in Seine-Saint-Denis announced on Friday that two men had been indicted in connection with the death of Jérémie Cohen, a Jewish man who had been chased and beaten by a mob and was hit by a tram while fleeing them in February.

The two men, aged 23 and 27, were taken into custody earlier this week after they surrendered themselves to police and claimed that the attack on Cohen had been linked to his behaviour but the prosecutor stated the attackers’ motive was yet to be fully determined, broadcaster BFMTV reports.

“At this stage, there is still no objective element to characterize a discriminatory motive, in particular anti-Semitic, at the origin of the violence,” the prosecutor said in a statement and noted both men were being charged with intentional violence in a meeting and intentional violence resulting in death without intent to kill.

Le Pen, Zemmour Highlight Death of Jewish Man Chased By Mob in Final Days of Presidential Election 1st Roundhttps://t.co/HY09xYnn2A

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Initially, the death of 31-year-old Cohen was thought to have been an accident but video footage later emerged showing a mob of people beating the Jewish man just prior to when he was struck by the tram. Cohen later died the following day from his injuries sustained in the incident.

The death of Cohen was highlighted last week ahead of the first round of the French presidential election by conservative writer and pundit Eric Zemmour who stated, “The images of the death of Jeremy Cohen are chilling. The death of yet another of our children and the deafening silence on the facts for two months revolt me. Did he die to escape scum? Did he die because he was a Jew? Why is this case hushed up?”

Marine Le Pen, who came second in the presidential vote, allowing her to proceed to face president Emmanuel Macron in the second round, also commented on the incident saying, “It’s not an accident just look at the video. This is obviously a criminal act.”

Le Pen also called for a French parliament inquiry into the death of Cohen and stated, “At the end of February, Jérémy Cohen was assassinated, crushed under a tram in his flight following the beating by a gang. What was presented as an accident could be an anti-Semitic murder. How to explain the silence on this affair and its motivations?”