Show locations in this area. The history of Jewish communities in France is characterised by a remarkable diversity, both historically and regionally. The distinctive destiny of Judaism in each of there major regions was the result of specific political events and historical circumstances. In 70 C. The first one ran aground at Arles, the second at Bordeaux, and the third, which sailed up the Rhone, at Lyon. These communities had their golden age.
In the eleventh century, Champagne was lit up by the presence and influence of Rashi in Troyes. A rabbi but also a judge and commentator on the Bible and the Talmud, he remains one of the great figures of Judaism, and his works are still the object of enthusiastic study today. Under the reign of Charles VI, the population complained of crushing taxes.
It vented its anger of the Jews, holding them responsible for every ill, and sacked many of their houses. Not long afterward, on 3 November , the king put an end to the disorder by expelling the Jews from his lands. This decision sounded the death knell for any viable Jewish presence in the French kingdom, and so it remained until the Revolution. They were heard and granted French citizenship. The communities of Alsace-Lorraine did not gain this privilege until September At the same time, the emperor created a central jewish consistory, which continues to preside over the religious life of French Jews to this day.
The movement for Jewish emancipation began to get under way in the mid-nineteenth century. Communities built their synagogues in a neo-Romanesque style with a touch of orientalism. But the period also saw the rise of the political anto-semitism championed by Edouard Dumont. This was at its most strident during the Dreyfus Affair, which divided the country from to In the twentieth century, immigration from eastern Europe changed the face of French Judaism.
During the dark years of the nazi occupation, some of the Jews living in France were killed in the death camps. After the war, the arrival of Jews from North Africa instilled a new vitality in the community. In the absence of reliable statistics, the number of Jews in France today is estimated at between , half of whom live in and around Paris.
