A sign directing passengers to the Paris Metro. Photo: Reuters / Gonzalo Fuentes.

Passengers on the Paris Metro who prevented an antisemitic assault on a young Jewish man on Saturday night have been warmly praised by a leading community defense group.

In a statement on Monday, the National Bureau of Vigilance Against Antisemitism (BNVCA) highlighted the role played by passengers who interceded when four men attempted to chase the Jewish man.

The incident took place late on Saturday night at the Jean Jaurès station in northeastern Paris. The 25-year-old man, who wore a kippah that identified him as a Jew, was approached by four men said to be aged between 30 and 40, one of whom asked the victim for a cigarette. When the young man replied that he did not have any cigarettes, the attacker pinned him against the wall of the station, telling him, “You Jews have enough money, you can buy me some.”

At this point, other passengers intervened, blocking the four men and enabling the young Jewish man to safely depart the scene.

“The victim was spared thanks to passengers who blocked the entry of these individuals into the subway train, and delivered him from the hands of the attacker who had pressed him against the wall,” the BNVCA said in its statement.

“Again the old cliché of the Jew and money poisons certain mentalities,” the statement continued.