"On the brink of civil war": the warning of the Jewish philosopher from France

Bernard-Henri Lévy warns in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that France is on the brink of civil war, attacks the political extremes for fueling the crisis, and declares that Jews are not the ones who need to leave.

French-Jewish philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy warns that France is on the brink of civil war, in an interview he gave to the Wall Street Journal. Lévy attacks both political extremes – Jean-Luc Mélenchon, whom he calls a 'shameless anti-Semite', and Marine Le Pen's party, which he accuses of denials regarding an anti-Semitic past. He describes the current wave of protests as nihilistic and backed by the far-left, and argues that it is not a protest for justice but a rebellion against the very idea of an organized society. Lévy notes a symbolic event that broke his heart – the burning of the town hall in Limoges, which he says parallels the fire at Notre-Dame. Despite the grim predictions, he remains optimistic about the emergence of a sane political alternative before next year's presidential elections. When asked about the future of Jews in France, he replied that Jews played a central role in shaping the republic, and that those who need to leave are the anti-Semites, not the Jews.