The synagogue of La Grande-Motte was reportedly targeted by arson. A gas cylinder is said to have exploded in a car in front of the entrance. Gérald Darmanin and Gabriel Attal will go there in the afternoon. A fire broke out on Saturday, August 24 in front of the Beth Yaacov synagogue in La Grande-Motte (Hérault). According to information from BFMTV, firefighters intervened around 8:30 a.m. Two cars parked in front of the place of worship were on fire. A gas cylinder was reportedly stored in one of them. According to video surveillance images, a suspicious individual left the premises a few moments before the flames ravaged the site. The doors of the synagogue were hit, but no one present was injured. inside was not injured. A municipal police officer was nevertheless hit while he was setting up a security system. The exact cause or severity of his injury is not yet known. In addition to the firefighters, bomb disposal experts were dispatched to the scene to try to control the fire. Gendarmes from the investigation unit of the Hérault group were also mobilized to make the first observations. 
A “clearly criminal” act
Une tentative d’incendie, manifestement criminelle, a touché la synagogue de la Grande Motte ce matin. Je veux assurer nos concitoyens juifs et la commune de tout mon soutien et dire qu’à la demande du Président de la République @EmmanuelMacron, tous les moyens sont mobilisés…
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) August 24, 2024
Informé of the situation, the resigning Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, asked the prefects to reinforce the static presence of the forces of law and order in front of Jewish places of worship. He speaks on X of a “manifestly criminal” act. He will go there in the afternoon, accompanied by the resigning Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal.