French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Monday he understands French Jews’ fear amid heightened religious tension in the country after last year’s terrorists attacks in Paris by Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists.

Valls’ comments came in a speech at the annual dinner of the French Jewish council CRIF. He was quoted by The Associated Press.

In his remarks, the French Prime Minister expressed his “solidarity” toward French Jews and strongly condemned anti-Semitism whether it comes from the “far-left” or the “far-right”.

“Yes, Jews of France are afraid to wear the kippa , to go to the synagogue, to do shopping in a kosher market, to send their children to public school. That’s a reality, and a reality we do not accept,” Valls said, according to AP.

Valls spoke as word came out of yet another anti-Semitic attack in France, this time involving a 13-year-old Jewish boy who was assaulted as he was making his way to synagogue by three anti-Semites who shouted “dirty Jew.”

The attack took place over Shabbat, but the National Office of Vigilance against Anti-Semitism (BNVCA) in France issued a public condemnation of the incident on Monday.

“The National Bureau of Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism denounces and condemns the anti-Semitic aggression in Paris (on) March 5, 2016 against a young 13-year-old boy, just because he was wearing a kippah,” it wrote in a French-language announcement.

It called on the police to make every effort to track down the culprits.

Valls has consistently condemned violence against Jews, which has skyrocketed in France in recent years.

In January, the French Prime Minister vowed that France will work with “all its might to protect Jews”.

Valls has also urged the Jews of France to remain in the country, saying that France without Jews “would not be France”.