ABSTRACT
In recent years, France has witnessed some of the worst attacks on Jews, making it ground zero for the so-called “new antisemitism.” In 2012, more than a third of all antisemitic incidents worldwide took place in France. The identification of Jews with modernity would have profound repercussions on the development of antisemitism in France. As in Germany, antisemitism in France functioned as what Shulamit Volkov has called a “cultural code,” a way for individuals or groups to situate themselves on the political spectrum. During the French Revolution, when Jews were still seen as the least modern of peoples, the main opposition to their emancipation came from deputies from Alsace and Lorraine, who complained about aggressive Jewish lending practices. Just as counter-revolutionary forces pursued their agenda through more or less explicit attacks on Jews, those who remained loyal to revolutionary principles and favored modernization looked to the Jews as allies.
