Street portraits of a prominent Holocaust survivor that were graffitied with swastikas have been restored by the artist who painted them on mailboxes in Paris.
The images of Simone Veil, who survived the Auschwitz death camp and went into government and politics in France, were found defaced near a town hall in the southeast of the French capital.
Veil died in 2017. The tagger of the mailboxes bearing her image has not been located.
Artist Christian Guemy, who also goes by the name C215, tweeted a photo of the restored portraits on Tuesday.
“Simone Veil is back … stronger than the barbarity of anonymous people,” Guemy wrote.
During a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron denounced an “intolerable increase” of anti-Semitic incidents, according to comments reported by government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux.
“We will be inflexible toward those who commit such acts”, Macron said.
READ MORE: Holocaust survivor remembers Auschwitz on her 92nd birthday
France 541 registered incidents of anti-Semitism last year compared to 311 in 2017, according to the Interior Ministry. Properties associated with other religions also have been targeted.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe condemned the vandalism of five churches last week and urged people in a country where secularism is written into the constitution.
“In our secular Republic, we respect the places of worship. These acts shock me,” he said.
The Associated Press
