An Algerian citizen employed as a caregiver in a Jewish family's home will stand trial on Tuesday in France on charges of poisoning the family on antisemitic grounds, according to a report by Le Parisien. The caregiver allegedly poured toxic cleaning products into food and drinks consumed by the family – parents and three young children from the Paris suburbs – for several weeks.
The case came to light in late January 2024 when the mother tasted cleaning products in the wine she was drinking. The evening before filing a police complaint, minutes after the caregiver left the house, she noticed foam on a bottle of grape juice and smelled bleach in the wine. Police seized cleaning products from the home, including a cleaning spray and a toilet cleaner containing bleach.
The five-year-old daughter told her mother she saw the caregiver transfer soapy liquid into an alcohol bottle labeled "Jerusalem."
Laboratory tests revealed chemical traces in wine stored at the home, in whisky, in grape juice, and even in pasta. According to the indictment, these are "harmful and even corrosive substances that could cause serious injury to the digestive system."
The caregiver, identified as Laila Y., 42, was arrested in early February 2024. She initially denied the allegations, but during a search of her home, she told officers, "Because they have money and power, I should never have worked for a Jew, she only brought me problems."
During interrogation, she confessed to pouring soap into the food as "punishment" and a "warning" following arguments about her wages. "I was angry, they didn't respect me," she said. "I knew this might cause them pain, but not enough to kill them."
Her defense attorney claimed she retracted her confession and denies the antisemitic motive. According to the lawyer, the real motive was jealousy. "What was said relates to a class issue and financial resentment," the attorney argued.
According to the report, searches on the caregiver's phone included inquiries about the family's identity, about "barbaric Jews" and about Jewish religious customs. Her Facebook account contained posts related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The children testified that the caregiver asked them questions about religion, and the younger daughter said she saw her repeatedly strike the mezuzahs in the house.
The family's attorneys view the acts as antisemitic crimes, and Jonathan Arfi, chairman of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), has been invited to testify at the trial. Arfi said the affair "exposes structural violence that must not be downplayed or ignored."
The caregiver, who has been in custody since February 2024, was in France illegally and forged a Belgian identity document to obtain employment.
