Macron to lead first national Dreyfus commemoration in Paris as antisemitic acts hit record levels in France
The ceremony on the Ile de la Cite at 12:30 marks 120 years since the Cour de cassation cleared the Jewish officer wrongly convicted of treason in 1894, and comes amid a surge in antisemitic acts.
Emmanuel Macron will preside over the first national day of commemoration recognising the innocence of Alfred Dreyfus on Sunday 12 July, exactly 120 years after the Cour de cassation definitively rehabilitated the Jewish officer. The ceremony, set for 12:30 on the Ile de la Cite, will take place against a backdrop of rising antisemitic acts in France, which reached 1,320 in 2025 according to the interior ministry, the highest levels recorded over the past three years.
The Dreyfus affair: a twelve-year injustice
Alfred Dreyfus was arrested in October 1894 and accused of high treason in favour of Germany, then France's sworn enemy, on the basis of fabricated evidence. A court-martial sentenced him to lifelong deportation on 22 December 1894, and he was sent to the notorious Devil's Island penal colony in French Guiana. After a second trial and more than four years on the island, Dreyfus was finally cleared by the Cour de cassation on 12 July 1906.
- Alfred Dreyfus arrested on false charges of high treason in favour of Germany.
- Court-martial sentences Dreyfus to lifelong deportation. He is sent to Devil's Island.
- Cour de cassation definitively rehabilitates Dreyfus, clearing his name.
- First national day of commemoration, presided over by Macron on the Ile de la Cite.
Philippe Oriol, a historian specialising in the Dreyfus affair, told Le Temps that the scandal, which divided French society for more than a decade, remains a lens through which to understand the mechanisms of hatred. He described the affair as a conspiracy driven by deeply rooted antisemitism within political and military circles.
Discussing the Dreyfus affair allows us to understand the mechanisms of hate.
A national day, to be held annually
Instated by Macron one year before the end of his presidential term, the commemoration will take place every year on 12 July. The Elysee described the day as symbolising "the victory of justice and truth over arbitrariness and lies, as well as the fight against antisemitism."
Through Alfred Dreyfus and his defenders, the entire Nation is reminded of its duty of vigilance and perseverance.
The ceremony will also honour the "Dreyfusards" who fought to prove his innocence, chief among them the writer Emile Zola. Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire is expected to speak, alongside Charles Dreyfus, the 99-year-old grandson of Alfred Dreyfus and one of the last living people to have known him personally.
Rising antisemitism frames the moment
The commemoration arrives as antisemitic acts in France have reached unprecedented levels. The interior ministry recorded 1,320 such acts in 2025, with the three most recent years marking the highest figures on record. The Elysee has indicated that Macron will announce a further initiative linked to the fight against antisemitism during the ceremony.
A longer memorial arc
Sunday's event continues a sustained memorial effort by Macron, punctuated by six entrances into the Pantheon including that of historian and resistance fighter Marc Bloch on 23 June. The Dreyfus commemoration adds a recurring annual fixture to that cycle, binding the memory of the affair to a present-day call for institutional vigilance.
