France opens terror probe after blast outside synagogue; suspect seen with Palestinian flag
2 cars set on fire outside Jewish place of worship, gas canister in one of them believed to caused explosion; attacker on the run; Jewish leaders: This was an attempt to kill Jews
PARIS — An explosion outside a synagogue in southern France wounded a police officer on Saturday morning in what authorities said was being treated as a terror attack.
A suspect caught on a surveillance camera outside the Beth Yaacov synagogue in the seaside resort of La Grande-Motte, near the city of Montpellier, was caught in surveillance camera footage clad in a Palestinian flag.
France’s acting interior minister ordered police reinforcements to protect Jewish places of worship after the suspected arson attack.
French President Emmanuel Macron calls the attack “an act of terror,” adding in a post on X that “the fight against antisemitism is a daily fight.”
Pensées pour les fidèles de la synagogue de la Grande-Motte et tous les Juifs de notre pays. Tout est fait pour retrouver l’auteur de cet acte terroriste et protéger les lieux de culte.
La lutte contre l’antisémitisme est un combat de chaque instant, celui de la Nation unie.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 24, 2024
“Sending thoughts to the faithful of the synagogue of La Grande-Motte and all the Jews of our country,” Macron wrote, promising that all efforts were being made to apprehend the perpetrator and to “protect places of worship.”
Police were hunting for the suspect and the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office was put in charge of the investigation, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said.
“This is an antisemitic attack. Once more, our Jewish compatriots are targeted,” Attal said on X, adding: “We won’t give up. In the face of antisemitism, in the face of violence, we will never allow ourselves to be intimidated.”
Two cars parked at the synagogue in the seaside resort town were set ablaze at about 8:30 a.m., causing the blast that injured the police officer, according to French media reports. One of the cars allegedly contained a propane gas tank.
???????????? ALERTE INFO
– Une puissante explosion vient de retentir à la synagogue Beth Yaacov à la Grande-Motte. Un incendie est en cours. (France Bleu)
— – Le Direct Info ???? (@LeDirectInfo) August 24, 2024
The blast occurred during Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest that runs from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday and often when many attend synagogue services. There was, however, no religious service ongoing at the time of the incident, a police source said.
Two doors of the synagogue were damaged in the blast.
The Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) said the blast was “an attempt to kill Jews.”
The use of a gas canister “in a car at a time when worshippers are expected to arrive at the synagogue is not simply a criminal act,” CRIF president Yonathan Arfi said. “This shows an intention to kill.”
A suspect caught on a surveillance camera after the explosion was brandishing a Palestinian flag, according to a source close to the police’s terror probe into the incident.
There was no immediate information about the gravity of the police officer’s injuries.
Acting Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the incident was being treated as an “attempted arson” that was “clearly a criminal act.”
“I want to assure our Jewish fellow citizens of my full support and say that at the request of President Emmanuel Macron all means are being mobilized to find the perpetrator,” Darmanin said in a post on X.
He ordered more police deployed at Jewish places of worship around the country following a surge of antisemitism since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last year.
Darmanin was expected to travel to Le Grand Motte later on Saturday along with Attal.
The Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) called the explosion “an attempt to kill Jews.”
The use of a gas canister “in a car at a time when worshipers are expected to arrive at the synagogue is not simply a criminal act,” CRIF president Yonathan Arfi told AFP. “This shows an intention to kill.”
La Motte, which has around 8,500 permanent residents, is a popular seaside resort and visited by more than 100,000 tourists every year.
La Motte’s mayor, Stephan Rossignol, said that CCTV had picked up images of an individual setting fire to the cars.
France, like other countries in Europe, has seen a surge in antisemitic incidents following the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s following assault on Gaza.
Earlier this month, Darmanin said that the government had counted 887 antisemitic acts in France in the first half of 2024, nearly three times as many as in the same period in 2023.
