Macron Condemns 'Act of Hatred' After Tree Memorial for Murdered Jew Is Cut Down

16 August 2025

French president Emmanuel Macron has denounced the cutting down of a tree memorialising a Jewish man killed in an anti-Semitic attack, as an "act of hatred". The tree in the Parisian suburb of Villejuif was planted in memory of Maxime Hauchard, who was murdered in a 2022 attack that shocked France. Macron's comments came after police in Villejuif released images of a man they wish to speak to in connection with the incident. An anonymous official quoted Macron as saying: "The president wants to express through this, that acts of hate and antisemitism are incompatible with the values of the republic." An investigation is ongoing.