Paris by night

If you're planning a trip to Paris any time soon, and particularly if you're Jewish and want to show it by wearing a skullcap or a star of David, you might want to avoid the 19th arrondisement. For the second time in three months, the media have reported street attacks on Jews by Muslim gangs there.

In this case, three Jewish boys aged 17 and 18 were attacked and beaten up by 4-5 Arabs of African origin. (See details here.) In the previous case, on June 21 a Jewish boy was attacked and seriously injured, also by a group of assailants. Apparently there have been other attacks, but as they have not resulted in serious injuries, they have gone pretty much unnoticed.

These encounters are often described as fights between ethnic groups; e.g., gang warfare between Jews and Muslims, despite the lack of any evidence that Jews are attacking Muslims. This time, at least, the reporting is fairly straightforward. The French government seems to agree with it, as President Nicholas Sarkozy has condemned the attack.