Thousands march to protest rise in anti-Semitic acts in France

At least 9,000 people marched in eastern Paris on Sunday to denounce a recent increase in anti-Semitic acts in France. An array of lawmakers and celebrities took part in the march, triggered mainly by recent cases of vandals spray-painting swastikas and other anti-Semitic graffiti on Jewish sites in eastern France. "What is awaking in France these days is a poison - it's anti-Semitism," Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe told reporters at the front of the march organized by human rights groups and political parties. Organization of the protest was marked with controversy, however. Two anti-racism groups - MRAP and the Human Rights League - initially had sought to broaden the protest to denounce all forms of racism, but SOS Racisme and several Jewish groups opposed that idea.