On France: Couldn't have said it better myself

Summation on the attitude of France towards the Jews and Israel.
The "New" French Anti-Semitism

The intellectual father of French Revolution, Voltaire, wrote of the Children of Abraham: "They are, all of them, born with raging fanaticism in their hearts, just as the Bretons and Germans are born with blond hair. I would not be in the least surprised if these people would not some day become deadly to the human race." This observation came at a time when European Jews cowered in ghettos.

Anticipating the Holocaust, 19th century French socialist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon had his own solution to the Jewish problem – "either sending back the Jews to Asia or exterminating them."

I didn't know about Voltaire. But then, in the case of the Jews, even an exception to the rule is too much to expect.