Paris, 24 August 2024 (TDI): An explosion took place outside a synagogue in southern France on Saturday morning, which police are treating as attempted arson.
It was caused by two vehicles being set alight outside the Beth Yaacov synagogue in La Grande-Motte, according to authoritie.
One of the cars contained a hidden gas bottle.
France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin described the incident “an obviously criminal act”.
In a post on X, he wrote: “I assure our Jewish fellow nationals and the municipality of my complete support”, adding that all means were being utilized to find the attacker.
Darmanin and French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal are likely to visit the scene later on Saturday.
One police officer wounded in the explosion was taken to Montpellier University Hospital, French media reported. His wounds are not said to be fatal.
Occitaine regional leader, Carole Delga, condemned the blast and said France would protect its Jewish population.
In a post on X, Ms Delga thanked local police officers for their “professionalism and composure”.
The mayor of La Grande-Motte, Stéphane Rossignol, said surveillance cameras had caught an individual setting fire to cars in front of the synagogue.
The Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) termed the incident as an “attempt to kill Jews”.
CRIF’s president, Yonathan Arfi, wrote on X: “Exploding a gas canister in a car in front of Grande-Motte’s synagogue at the time of worshipers’ arrival is not just attacking Synagogue, it is an act to try and kill Jews.”
