 In the early Middle Ages, France was a center of Jewish learning, but persecution increased as the Middle Ages wore on.France was the first country in Europe to emancipate its Jewish population during the French Revolution, but despite legal equality anti-Semitism remained an issue, as illustrated in the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century.However, through the 1870 "Décret Crémieux", France secured full citizenship for the Jews in then French-ruled Algeria.