Memorial to slain French Jewish man vandalized, amid religious tensions
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
French authorities say vandals have damaged a memorial plaque honoring a young French Jewish man tortured and killed in 2006.
The incident targeting the monument to Ilan Halimi comes amid heightened religious tensions in France, after radical Islamic gunmen attacked a Paris kosher market and newspaper Charlie Hebdo in January.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in a statement Sunday that prosecutors have opened an investigation into the damage to the monument in the Paris suburb of Bagneux.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Halimi's death stunned many in France, especially in the Jewish community, Europe's largest. Driven in part by anti-Semitism, a gang held him captive for weeks and tortured him, then left him naked and handcuffed near railroad tracks. The 23-year-old Halimi died en route to the hospital.