There is a significant Jewish population in France, and a significant cultural intertie with Jews due to contributions to French culture from French Jews; there is also a tradition of anti-semitism, and a tradition of anti-anti-semitism.

France is a country with extremely strong intellectual currents, so it is entirely consistent with the French approach to the world that their anti-semitism and anti-anti-semitism takes an intellectual form.

Not only that, while in most cases people make a claim that they are anti-zionist not anti-semitic this is a distinction without a difference, I fully believe the French capable of making them distinct and different.

Back in the 70s there was a significant film called 'Z' which was an attempt to generate a broad statement on political violence based on actual events in Greece. The movie is in French. Right at the end of the movie, as the lead fomenter, a general, is being formally indicted of complicity in a homicidal plot, a reporter asks him, "Do you consider yourself like Dreyfus?" and the general immediately retorts "Dreyfus was guilty!" In the days when I saw the flick, it got a major response from the audience, all of whom were familiar with the Dreyfus affair despite being college age Americans.