French Police Arrest Four Men After Jewish Teens Assaulted in Nice

French police arrested four men they said assaulted four Jewish teenagers in an anti-Semitic assault in Nice during the weekend, JTA reported. The attacks were apparently triggered by one of the victims’ wearing a Magen David pendant.

The anti-Semitic incident occurred in the center of Nice at about 2 a.m. on Saturday morning, according to a report by the France3 media channel. The four suspects and a fifth teenager, who was not immediately arrested, assaulted the Jewish victims, beating them and causing minor injuries.

Mayor Christian Estrosi, who has vowed a zero-tolerance policy on racist violence and radical Islam activities in Nice, said that he found the incident “unacceptable” in a statement from his office titled “anti-Semitic assault in the center of Nice.” Police officers searched the city for the perpetrators, resulting in the suspects’ arrest within just a few hours of the incident.

“I cannot permit the rise of anti-Semitism in our city, or in our country,” added Estrosi in a statement whose length and tone is unusual for an incident with no serious injuries. “The cowardice and violence of these attacks must not be played down and go unpunished,” he added.