For the second time since he came to power, French President Nicolas Sarkozy will address Wednesday in Paris the annual dinner of CRIF, the umbrella representative group of French Jewish organizations.
A political event to be attended by one thousand people, including twenty members of the government, representatives of the opposition political parties, several ambassadors from Arab countries, leaders of the Jewish community, parliamentarians, religious leaders, political and trade union leaders.
According to the tradition, the guest of honor at the dinner, held at the Pavillon d'Armenonville in the Bois de Boulogne, is the Prime Minister, with the exception of 2008 after Sarkozy became President of the Republic.
Last year, Prime Minister Francois Fillon made the speech just after CRIF president Richard Prasquier expressed the main concerns of the 600,000 French Jews. But even then President Sarkozy came briefly to greet the participants during the early evening cocktail.
Traditionally, extreme-right and extreme-left parties are not invited because of anti-Semitic and racist statements for the first and the support of boycott campaigns against Israel for the second.
Current events in Egypt and Tunisia and their impact on the Middle East are likely to dominate Wednesday’s speeches and conversations beside more "traditional" topics such as anti-Semitism as "a consequence of the Israeli-Arab", solidarity with the State of Israel and the commitment of the Jewish community of France to the values of the Republic.
According to Richard Prasquier, the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the country is still a issue of concern.
Last week, the protection service of the Jewish Community (SPCJ) announced it had recorded 466 anti-Semitic acts last year. The annual census is conducted by the SPCJ’s department of aid to victims which operates a regular cross-checking with the Ministry of Interior.
The report will be delivered to the French government at the CRIF dinner.
But Prasquier stressed that this phenomenon is not specific to France. "It’s a European phenomenon".
In proportion to the importance of the community, "figures of anti-Semitism are more acute in the UK" he said.
Created in 1943 in Lyon as part of the resistance to Nazi occupation, CRIF is the spokesman of the Jewish community in France to the government, its political representation.