France detains suspect in synagogue arson attempt
Kyiv • UNN
A man suspected of attempting to set fire to a synagogue and cars is detained in La Grande Motte. The French government is stepping up security at Jewish sites due to an increase in anti-Semitic incidents.
In the French city of La Grande Motte, police detained a man suspected of attempting to set fire to a synagogue. This was reported by French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, UNN reports .
Details
About 200 police officers participated in the search for the attacker, who, according to Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, set fire to several synagogue entrances and several cars nearby.
According to BFM TV, the suspect is a 33-year-old Algerian, but local police declined to provide details. The Office of the Counter-Terrorism Prosecutor, which is leading the investigation, said the suspect was arrested in the city of Nîmes on Saturday evening.
“Before the police intervened, the suspect opened fire on the police, who also opened fire in response. The man was wounded in the face,” the prosecutor said in a statement. Two more people were also detained.
One of the policemen was lightly injured when a gas bottle exploded while providing security at the scene, Attal said.
“This is an anti-Semitic attack. Once again, our Jewish compatriots are being targeted,” Attal wrote on social media site X. “In the face of anti-Semitism and violence, we will never allow ourselves to be intimidated.”
After visiting the synagogue, Attal said that an “absolute tragedy was narrowly avoided” thanks to the quick arrival of firefighters and police at the scene.
According to local media, the suspect set fire to two cars, one of which contained at least one gas bottle, in the parking lot of a synagogue at around 8:30 a.m. local time.
The French government has announced increased security at synagogues, Jewish schools and shops across the country. This decision was made against the backdrop of a rise in anti-Semitic incidents in France following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent actions in Gaza.
According to Le Parisien, franceinfo, and other media outlets, the suspect was seen on CCTV shortly before the attack with a Palestinian flag tied to his waist.
“The explosion of a gas bottle in a car in front of the Grand Motte synagogue at a time when worshippers were supposed to be arriving is not just an attack on a place of worship, it is an attempt to kill Jews,” said Yonatan Arfi, leader of CRIF, an organization that unites Jewish communities in France.
La Grande Motte is a port and resort city on the Mediterranean coast in France.
