French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged that every effort will be made to track down and punish the person who cut down a tree commemorating a murdered Jew.
The memorial tree was planted 14 years ago to honour Ilan Halimi, who was tortured and murdered by a Paris gang in 2006, sparking widespread shock and outrage at the time.
Macron said the felling of the olive tree on Wednesday was "an attempt to kill him a second time", adding: "All means are being deployed to punish this act of hatred."
Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez confirmed an investigation was under way, adding: "Everything will be done to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice."
Halimi's body was found by a railway line handcuffed to a tree, naked and severely burned, having been held captive by the Barbarian gang for more than three weeks.
