Paris officials say that an individual has been arrested for a torrent of hate speech directed at Jewish philosopher Alain Finkielkraut during a Saturday march by yellow vest protesters.

The Paris prosecutor's office said Wednesday that the person was taken into custody Tuesday evening after a police inquiry was opened into a suspected public insult based on origin, ethnicity, nation, race or religion.

On Tuesday, thousands attended rallies across France to decry an uptick in anti-Semitic acts in recent months, including an attack on a cemetery where about 80 gravestones were spray-painted with swastikas. French President Emmanuel Macron observed a moment of silence with parliament leaders at the Holocaust museum in Paris.

France is home to the world's largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States.