French police blow up suspicious car outside synagogue

A suspicious vehicle parked outside a French synagogue was blown up by police sappers on Tuesday. The incident was later found to have been a false alarm.

The car was discovered outside the synagogue in the city of Metz in northeastern France. Police and army cordoned off the area and carried out a controlled explosion of the vehicle’s trunk.

After carrying out the explosion, police reported that no bombs were found in the car.

“Sappers intervened after a stolen vehicle was discovered parked not far from the synagogue,” Hervé Niel, director of the region’s department of public security, told AFP. However, he said, it turned out that there was no malicious intent and nothing suspicious was discovered.

Located near the borders of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz has been home to Jews since at least the ninth century. The current synagogue, in Rabbin Élie-Bloch Street, was built in 1840.

France has been hit with a wave of Islamist terrorism in recent years, including several deadly attacks on Jews.