A 20-year-old man was arrested on Sunday evening after climbing the outside of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine synagogue in Poissy, Yvelines, and removing the Israeli flag.
French media reported on Monday that the individual, who was already known to the police, admitted to the offense and to being drunk at the time of his actions.
According to some French reports, the individual tore the flag and set fire to it. However, Le Parisien said that it was found intact by municipal police officers.
Le Figaro learned from the Versailles prosecutor's office that he is charged with trespassing in a place of worship, theft by climbing, and damage to property on religious grounds.
Poissy mayor Sandrine Dos Santos told Le Parisien she condemned "in the strongest terms the incident that occurred in a synagogue in Poissy and the damage done to an Israeli flag by one or more individuals who must be very severely punished."
She expressed "[her] solidarity, as well as that of the City, towards the Jewish community directly targeted by these unacceptable antisemitic acts."
Dos Santos added that "Faced with the increase in violence, our commitment against discrimination remains unwavering and will not waver."
"We repeat it loud and clear: no form of racism or rejection of others has a place in Poissy."
Antisemitic incidents in France
This follows a spate of antisemitic incidents in France in recent days. On Friday, a Holocaust memorial and two synagogues in Paris were defaced with green paint.
On the same day, a Parisian rabbi was violently hit several times in the stomach in Normandy. The victim, Rabbi Elie Lemmel, wrote, "I received a blow and was insulted in a language I didn't understand."
Later in the weekend, an elementary school in Lyon, France, was set on fire and sprayed with antisemitic and pro-Palestinian slogans and swastikas.
