French President Emmanuel Macron said that the “demons of antisemitism” are returning, which, according to him, have darkened the country’s past and present throughout history, BFMTV reports.

The statement was made during the ceremony unveiling a statue of Captain Alfred Dreyfus near the Cour de Cassation building in Paris. The event took place on the 120th anniversary of his full exoneration by France’s highest judicial authority after one of the most high-profile political trials of the late 19th century.

“We know that the old demons of antisemitism have never completely disappeared from our country,” Macron said, calling for constant vigilance against hatred and the persecution of people because of their origin or religion.

The ceremony took place against the backdrop of an incident in the Paris suburb of Sarcelles, where police evacuated about 300 people after discovering a suspicious vehicle containing military weapons near a synagogue. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that the car contained “long-barreled military weapons.” Investigators are establishing the circumstances of the incident.

In France, which is home to Europe’s largest Jewish community, there has been an increase in antisemitic incidents, including threats, vandalism, and attacks, following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza.

Alfred Dreyfus, a French officer of Jewish origin, was convicted in 1894 on charges of passing military secrets to Germany on the basis of fabricated evidence. His case became a symbol of the fight against antisemitism and judicial injustice. In 1906, France’s Cour de Cassation fully exonerated him.