Moroccan Student Faces Deportation After Nazi Salute at French Synagogue

The prefect of Drôme, Thierry Devimeux, intends to tolerate no anti-Semitic and racist acts in his territory. In a press release, he "strongly condemns" this "odious" act committed on March 25 by "a young Moroccan national in an irregular situation" who "filmed himself in front of the synagogue in Valencia performing a Nazi salute".

Placed in police custody in an administrative detention center in Lyon on Wednesday, April 2, the high school student was notified of an Obligation to Leave the French Territory (OQTF). "The young man had indeed obtained a student visa [...] but he was not completely in order, not having fulfilled his obligations to the prefecture," says Ici Drôme-Ardèche.

According to the same source, the teenager’s school would have made an anonymous report to the prosecutor to denounce the acts of the latter. In his defense, the high school student explained that he had acted under the influence of alcohol. He will be presented before the judge on October 6 before being expelled to Morocco, his country of origin.

The prefect of Drôme has called on citizens to be more vigilant "in the face of any form of hate speech or acts" in order to guarantee "cohesion and living together".