French footballer Nicolas Anelka has caused a storm by using the ` ` ' '' gesture as a goal celebration . The gesture was created by controversial French artist Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala . But the furore has shone a light on signs of an increasingly fractious French society . The gesture has been linked to rising anti - Semitism in France . Figures from 2017 show a 59 % rise in anti - Semitic attacks .
French footballer Nicolas Anelka has caused a storm by using the ` ` ' '' gesture as a goal celebration . The gesture was created by controversial French artist Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala . The gesture has been linked to rising anti - Semitism in France . Figures from 2017 show a 59 % rise in anti - Semitic attacks .