Memorial plaque for Richard rescue family damaged in Paris

Paris – 20 July 2026: A memorial plaque honoring Arsène and Angèle Richard and their daughter Marcelle has been damaged in Paris’s 12th arrondissement. The plaque is located at number 15 Rue Louis-Braille. It honors the Richard family, who saved a child’s life during the Nazi occupation.

According to consistent reports, the plaque was damaged during the night of 16 to 17 July, breaking into several pieces. The incident occurred in connection with commemorative events for the Velodrome d’Hiver roundup. No confirmed official information on possible suspects or the precise circumstances of the damage was initially released.

Arsène and Angèle Richard and Marcelle Richard are honored as Righteous Among the Nations. The distinction recognizes people who helped Jews during persecution under the German occupation and the Vichy regime. The Paris plaque for the family was unveiled on 8 June 2021 and is one of the local sites of remembrance for civilian assistance and resistance.

The commemoration recalls the roundup of 16 and 17 July 1942. At the time, French police officers and gendarmes in Paris and the surrounding area arrested 12,884 men, women and children on state orders. Thousands of Jewish people were rounded up at the Velodrome d’Hiver before being deported to Nazi extermination camps.

France’s national commemoration for the victims of racist and antisemitic crimes committed by the French state, and for the Righteous, took place on 19 July 2026. The Ministry of Defense recalled that more than 13,000 Jews in the Paris region were affected by the persecution operation. The damage to the plaque therefore came at a particularly sensitive moment of public remembrance.

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire strongly condemned the act, according to media reports, describing it as an antisemitic act. Such a classification is of considerable importance, but the legal assessment rests with the competent investigative and judicial authorities. Whether a complaint had already been filed or an investigation opened had not been officially confirmed by Monday.

The case once again draws attention to the protection of sites of remembrance in public spaces. The plaque on Rue Louis-Braille stands not only for the fate of a rescued child, but also for the actions of a family that provided help at personal risk. Its damage therefore affects a site that connects persecution, rescue and historical responsibility.