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Police arrested the manager of a leisure park in southern France after he denied entry to 150 Israeli children and teenagers last week.
Prosecutors filed charges of religious discrimination, a crime that can result in up to three years in prison.
The incident happened at Tyrovol, the largest adventure park in the Pyrenees. The children, ages 8 to 16, attended a summer camp in Spain and booked the visit through a Spanish travel agency. When they arrived, the manager, Florian Sollac, 52, blocked them at the entrance. As a result, the group, traveling in three buses, continued on to another site. Sollac rejects the charge.
Conflicting Explanations and Public Outcry
On Wednesday evening, the park posted on Facebook that it would close Thursday for “safety inspections” after a storm. However, when the children appeared the next day, staff turned them away. Prosecutors explained that Sollac told some people he acted on “personal beliefs,” yet he offered different explanations to others.
Tyrovol includes 12 zip line routes covering two kilometers over a lake and waterfall, with some lines rising 50 meters high. A former colleague argued that Sollac had previously welcomed Israeli groups, and therefore the ban contradicted his past behavior.
🇫🇷 Porté-Puymorens · August 22, 2025
150 Israeli children aged 8 to 16, with a reservation made long in advance, were turned away from Tyrovol Park by the manager for his “personal principles.”
He was arrested, and the case is being investigated as religious discrimination. pic.twitter.com/SbSdykNFvv
— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) August 22, 2025
Jewish Leaders Sound Alarm
Jewish leaders and Israeli officials responded with outrage. “This is a new act of antisemitic hatred against Israelis — this time against children,” the Israeli Embassy in Paris declared. “It echoes dark periods in history when Jews were banned from public spaces. This wave of antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment must end.”
“A line was crossed. We are appalled,” said Perla Danan, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) in Languedoc-Roussillon. “It started with graffiti, insults, and physical attacks — and now it’s literally a ban on children aged 8 to 16.”
She warned that the case recalled Holocaust-era signs reading, “No Jews or dogs allowed.”
Corinne Serfaty-Stringer of CRIF added: “We are in the midst of a tsunami of antisemitism. This is further proof that being Jewish and Israeli on French soil is increasingly dangerous.”
The Jewish Observatory of France also condemned the refusal. It stressed that such actions directly violated the fundamental principles of the Republic.
Political and Local Reactions
Porte-Puymorens Mayor Jean-Philippe Auge said the case left residents “utterly astonished.” He emphasized that a private company runs the zip line park. “The DNA of our community is based on a sense of sharing and fraternity,” he explained.
Louis Aliot, mayor of Perpignan, described the decision as “serious and unacceptable.” He argued that France’s political climate has worsened for Jews since Hamas’ October 7th massacre. “Under the cover of Hamas’ declaration of war, Jews and Israelis are targeted with hostility,” Aliot said. “Following attacks on Jewish-owned shops and assaults on citizens, France has earned the dubious distinction of being Europe’s most antisemitic country.”
A Worsening Climate
The refusal at Tyrovol occurred on the same day Israeli visitors faced attacks at a holiday village in the Netherlands.
In France, antisemitism has surged since October 7. Authorities recorded sharp increases in assaults, threats, vandalism, and harassment during 2023. Therefore, for many French Jews, watching children barred from a holiday park because they are Israeli illustrates how hatred has seeps into daily life.
