French President Emmanuel Macron opened what has been called Europe’s largest Jewish community centre on Tuesday, at a time when many Jews have left because of growing antisemitism in the country.

The founders of the European Judaism Centre said it would demonstrate France’s Jewish community was still strong — but would be targeted principally at Orthodox Jews.

“Many Jews have left the areas they used to live in and no one can blame them. That difficult context was the right time to start rebuilding,” said Joel Mergui, the head of the Consistoire, which manages France’s Jewish institutions. “We’re asking France to give us reasons to hope. Are we about to face a new exodus, or is it time to reclaim territories that have been lost?”

Speaking to hundreds of attendees, Mr Macron described the centre as “a leap of faith into the future”.

He said: “When some could have asked ‘why build in such a context?’, you continued straight ahead, no matter the difficulties. Your faith guided you.

“The centre shows a Judaism that is open to the city, society and the world”.

The idea emerged more than a decade ago and Mr Mergui said that antisemitic attacks in France sometimes led him to doubt the project.

He said: “In 2006, in the month we signed the lease, 23-year-old Ilan Halimi was kidnapped and killed. In 2012, when we obtained building authorisations, the Toulouse Ozar Hatorah school was attacked, and in 2015 as we started building, the Hyper Casher supermarket was targeted.

“They had us doubting sometimes but one thing was certain: we can let no one decide our future for us.”

Mr Macron said France will always stand by attacked minorities, referring both to antisemitism and to a shooting attack on Monday in a mosque in the city of Bayonne in which a far-right extremist injured two men in their seventies.

“The republic unites and defends those victims, as it defends each one of its children when obscurantism and intolerance reemerge,” the French president said.

The 5,000 square-metre European Judaism Center includes a 600-seat synagogue, conference and exhibit halls. It will offer training in various fields, including art, theatre and cinema studies by renowned movie makers. It will cooperate with Jewish centres across Europe.

Mr Macron said there was the potential for conferences on Jewish thinkers from Spain, France to Eastern Europe, adding: “But I don’t want to meddle in your programming of course.”

The opening comes at a time when France is debating the extent of its secularity rules. Religious symbols like veils and kippot are banned in public buildings, and the state cannot fund religious institutions like synagogues and mosques. Yet the French government invested €3 million (£2.6 million) in the centre, though the Consistoire says this is not a problem.

“The centre has a cultural part and a religious part, so there is no issue here,” Murielle Schor, the Consistoire’s Vice President told the JC.

Chief Rabbi Haïm Korsia said in his speech that “in this centre all Jewish voices in their great diversity will be heard”, but it appears elements of Reform, Liberal and Conservative Judaism will be kept out both from the synagogue and the debates.

“When talking about diversity, it’s diversity within Orthodox Judaism. Liberals and Conservatives don’t have the same Judaism as us,” Paris Chief Rabbi Michel Gugenheim said.

“If you place a Liberal rabbi next to an Orthodox one in front of the audience, you’re telling people they can choose one or the other.

“This doesn’t mean liberals are all bad. They can have a positive role if they bring non-practicing Jews back to the faith and if those Jews then turn to Orthodox Judaism.”

Several Muslim officials attended the opening ceremony, telling the JC they want to build a European Islam Center on the same model.

Mohammed Moussaoui, head of the French Mosques Union, welcomed the centre’s launch.

“These types of centres do have an effect on everyday life. Knowledge brings tolerance between communities too,” he said.

“President Emmanuel Macron cited Jewish intellectuals like Maimonides who lived in Cordoba, Spain when it was Muslim. When Jews and Muslims lived together in Cordoba they lived in harmony. Learning from one another enriched both communities.”