Irish Man Given Suspended Sentence in France for Antisemitic Threats Against Jewish Couple

A court in Avignon, southern France, sentenced Patrick O’Brien, a 60-year-old Irish national, to a six-month suspended prison term on Friday after convicting him of issuing antisemitically motivated death threats and justifying crimes against humanity—offenses under French law. O’Brien had threatened to kill a Jewish couple from Australia during an altercation at a supermarket.

Judges ordered O’Brien to pay €500 ($560) each to the woman and her husband and denied prosecutors’ request for a three-year ban from France. Jewish organizations participating as civil parties criticized the sentence as too lenient to act as a deterrent.

The incident occurred on August 11 at an Auchan superstore in Le Pontet, near Avignon. The Australian couple had been conversing amiably with O’Brien, a native of Dublin, about the French national soccer jersey worn by the husband. When the discussion shifted to Ireland’s policy on Israel, O’Brien grew hostile and made antisemitic comments.

‘It’s a Shame Hitler Didn’t Finish the Job’

“It’s a shame Hitler didn’t finish the job,” he reportedly told the couple. When the woman began recording on her cellphone, O’Brien threatened to shoot her in the head. The video spread widely on social media, provoking outrage in France and abroad. The woman’s father is a Holocaust survivor, and several of her relatives were killed at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

C.H.A.R., a French organization dedicated to combating hatred, antisemitism, and racism, joined the case as a civil party—a legal status under French law that permits victims and advocacy groups to participate in criminal proceedings and seek damages. The group was represented by attorney Annie Cohen. While it welcomed the conviction, it expressed deep disappointment with the sentencing.

“To publicly wish for the completion of the Holocaust, then threaten to murder a woman because she is Jewish, and receive only a suspended sentence and a few hundred euros in payment: this minimizes the gravity of these acts, and we cannot accept it,” a spokesperson for the organization said following the sentencing.

The organization also highlighted the victim’s family history. “Her father survived the Holocaust; members of her family were murdered in Auschwitz. What was said to her amounted to regret that her family had not been entirely eradicated,” the group stated.

B’nai B’rith also participated as a civil party. The court ordered O’Brien to pay €300 ($335) to each of the two organizations.

After the video circulated online, investigators from France’s gendarmerie identified O’Brien through supermarket security footage and located him at his home in the Avignon area. He was arrested on August 26. Prosecutors said digital devices seized from his residence contained additional racist material, including remarks targeting people from developing nations.

O’Brien Admits Statements but Blames Heated Argument

Avignon prosecutor Stéphanie Huin stated that O’Brien admitted making the remarks but claimed they occurred during a heated argument about Ireland’s policy toward Israel. She said he expressed remorse and attributed his behavior to losing his temper. During the trial, he presented himself as opposed to violence, called himself “a committed humanist,” and cited health problems.

Although the court convicted him on both counts, it opted not to impose a prison term.

The case drew condemnation as early as August, when French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez commended the investigators and stressed that “antisemitism must be fought with determination and without respite.” Following the sentencing, Jewish organizations warn that lenient penalties for explicit death threats and statements praising the Holocaust could send a dangerous message amid rising concern over antisemitism in France.

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