French authorities have opened an investigation after the slogan “Free Palestine” was spray-painted on several vehicles belonging to Jewish holiday-makers in the Alpine resort of Châtel, Haute-Savoie. The gendarmerie said four cars were defaced early on 20 August, while Mayor Nicolas Rubin cited five vehicles, all identifiable as owned by observant Jewish families, mainly from the United Kingdom. The Thonon-les-Bains prosecutor’s office is treating the case as “degradation of property committed because of the victim’s religion,” an offence carrying harsher penalties under France’s hate-crime statutes. Local authorities have increased police presence in the ski station, which hosts about 250-300 members of the Lubavitch community during the summer season. Rubin condemned the acts as “ignoble,” and Jewish community leaders said the incident fits a pattern of targeting Jews under the pretext of pro-Palestinian activism.