ARRESTS IN ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENT

The incident occurred in presence of Mrs Chirac, the wife of the French President, in the city of Macon (East of France). As the show was taped for television, the police investigators were able to identify the hecklers.

The show was a fund-raising project under the chairmanship of Mrs. Chirac herself. When singer Shirel came up on stage, a group of young Arabs close to the stage started to shout "Dirty Jewess, Death to the Jews, We'll kill you". The security did not intervene "for fear of fanning the flames", according to one of the organizers. Shirel was later comforted by Mrs. Chirac. France's First Lady made no comments. Conversely, France's Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and the Minister of Justice Dominique Perben called the singer to express their disgust and outrage at the incident. Minister Perben said charges would be pressed against the culprits, when caught.