Photo: Pascal Guyot Agence France-Presse A police officer who went to the scene was injured after a propane gas bottle exploded in one of the vehicles, according to the statement.
Associated Press in Paris
Published yesterday at 10:36 p.m.
- Europe
French police have arrested and detained a suspect believed to be behind an arson attack on a synagogue in a southwestern Mediterranean city that injured a police officer, the country's interior minister said.
Two cars parked outside the Beth Yaacov synagogue in the seaside resort of La Grande Motte, near Montpellier, were set on fire shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday, the national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office said in a statement.
“The alleged perpetrator of the arson attack on the synagogue has been arrested,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced in a post on X. He visited the scene of the incident with outgoing Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and met with local officers and synagogue employees.
Mr. Darmanin also praised the professionalism of the police and RAID forces who intervened despite the gunfire. He did not provide further information.
Firefighters discovered additional fires at two entrances to the synagogue. A police officer who arrived at the scene was injured after a propane gas cylinder exploded in one of the vehicles, the statement said.
Five people, including the rabbi, who were in the synagogue compound at the time of the attack were unharmed, it added.
Prosecutors are investigating the attack as “attempted terrorist assassinations,” “destruction by dangerous means in connection with a terrorist enterprise” and “terrorist criminal conspiracy to prepare crimes against people,” the statement said.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000Acting Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin ordered a police reinforcement to protect Jewish places of worship and said the incident was an “attempted arson, clearly criminal.”
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“I want to assure our Jewish fellow citizens and the community of my full support and say that at the request of President Emmanuel Macron, all means are being mobilized to find the perpetrator,” Mr. Darmanin assured X. He ordered the deployment of more police to Jewish places of worship across the country, following a rise in anti-Semitism since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas last year.
La Grande Motte Mayor Stephan Rossignol said investigators were reviewing video surveillance footage, claiming that a lone suspect was seen at the scene of the attack.
“The individual in question failed to enter the synagogue, although that was clearly his objective,” Rossignol said in an interview with France Info.
Sources close to the investigation said that a male suspect seen on surveillance footage fleeing the site was carrying a Palestinian flag and a weapon. They spoke on condition of anonymity, in accordance with regulations, as part of an ongoing investigation.
President Emmanuel Macron called the synagogue attack a “terrorist act” and assured that “everything is being done to find the perpetrator […] and protect places of worship.”
“The fight against anti-Semitism is a constant battle, that of the united Nation,” Macron wrote on X.
Gabriel Attal indicated that the synagogue was targeted by the attack, which he called an “act of anti-Semitism.”
“Once again, our Jewish fellow citizens are being targeted,” Attal lamented in a message on X. He added: “In the face of anti-Semitism, in the face of violence, we will never let ourselves be intimidated.”