This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

A prominent Jewish group has sent a letter to France's interior minister to demand that a tiny hamlet south of Paris called Death to Jews be renamed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Centre's director of international affairs, Shimon Samuels, wrote to Bernard Cazeneuve, saying he was "shocked to discover the existence of a village in France officially called 'Death to Jews'. It is extremely shocking that this name has slipped under the radar in the 70 years that have passed since France was liberated from Nazism and the (pro-Nazi) Vichy regime," he wrote.

However, the deputy mayor of the village of Courtemaux, which has jurisdiction over the hamlet La Mort aux Juifs, 60 miles (100km) south of Paris, dismissed the concerns.

"It's ridiculous. This name has always existed," Marie-Elizabeth Secretand said. "No one has anything against the Jews, of course. It doesn't surprise me that this is coming up again."

Changing the name would require a decision by the municipal council, which Secretand said was unlikely. "Why change a name that goes back to the Middle Ages or even further? We should respect these old names.

"A previous municipal council, at least 20 years ago, already refused to change the name of this hamlet, which consists of a farm and two houses."

In May, residents of a village in Spain called Castrillo Matajudios (Castrillo Kill Jews), voted to change the name.

In a tight referendum, the citizens opted for the less offensive, older name for the town, Castrillo Mota de Judios (Castrillo Hill of the Jews).