PARIS, Oct. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin strongly condemned Saturday the desecration of a Jewish cemetery in Brumath, east France, describing the act as "odious".

    Raffarin "came to know emotionally the desecration of numerous tombstones in the Jewish cemetery of Brumath", Raffarin's office said in a statement.

    "He strongly condemns this desecration... the odious character of these acts should arouse a reaction of collective indignation," it said.

    "Orders have been given immediately to concerned services to open the necessary inquiries in order to arrest and hand the perpetrators of these scandalous acts to justice without delay," it noted.

    Several tombstones in the Jewish cemetery of Brumath were found on Saturday afternoon to have been smeared with swastikas. Enditem