A spate of cemetery desecrations has been reported Wednesday throughout several parts of France, following two major incidents in the northwest and east of the country on Sunday and Tuesday, the Ministry of Interior said Wednesday.
Desecration of 15 graves was reported in Saint Beat, the Upper Garonne region in central France and two other cemeteries were tagged with "Swastikas" in western and central departments of the country, the Ministry said in a statement. "The government is meeting with total firmness these abject acts which strike against the values of the Republic, and notably the fundamental principle of respect, which is one its pillars," Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.
The Minister has given strict instructions to "systematically" pursue judicial action for these acts so that none of these crimes goes unpunished.
"Hatred has no place in the Republic." Cazeneuve affirmed.
The three latest incidents reported Wednesday follow two earlier desecrations, one of over 200 Jewish graves on Sunday in the Upper Rhine area of eastern France and another desecration of a Christian cemetery in the Calvados region of northwest France on Tuesday.
Five teenage, aged between 15 and 17, culprits with no apparent motive have been arrested for the vandalism of the Jewish cemetery.
French authorities at the highest level have warned about the increase in religious intolerance here as demonstrated by a sharp increase in cemetery vandalism and acts against religious institutions and communities.