World

Fire at French kosher market targeted by anti-Jewish vandals

Fire at French kosher market targeted by anti-Jewish vandals

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

PARIS: French officials say a fire broke out at a kosher market south of Paris that was vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti last week. No one is said to have been hurt, but the fire damaged much of the Promo & Stock store. Antoine Besme of the regional prosecutor’s office said authorities believe the fire Tuesday in the suburb of Creteil was of a criminal nature, because the store’s protective shutters had been forced open. Besme told The Associated Press that a preliminary investigation was opened, and that authorities are working to see if there is a link to last week’s vandalism. The fire raised concerns because of the anti-Semitic graffiti, and because the fire broke out three years after a deadly Islamic extremist attack on a kosher market in Paris.