French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin walk outside the city’s synagogue after cars were set on fire in front of the synagogue in La Grande-Motte, France, August 24, 2024. Reuters/Manon Cruz | Photo credit: Reuters
French police have captured and detained the suspect behind an arson attack on a synagogue in a southwestern Mediterranean city that left a police officer injured, the country’s acting interior minister said on Sunday (August 25, 2024).
Two cars parked at the Beth Yaakov synagogue complex in the seaside resort town of La Grande Motte, near Montpellier, were set on fire just after 8 am (0600 GMT) on Saturday (August 24, 2024), the national counterterrorism prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Saturday (August 24, 2024).
“The alleged perpetrator of the arson attack on the synagogue has been arrested,” acting Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in a post on X. He visited the scene on Saturday (August 24, 2024) afternoon with acting Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and met with local officials and synagogue staff.
Mr. Darmanin also praised the “professional conduct” of the police forces and its Special Intervention Unit “despite the gunfire” during the operation. He gave no further details.
“Firefighters observed additional fires at two entrances to the synagogue. A police officer who arrived at the scene was injured when a propane gas tank exploded in a vehicle,” the prosecutor’s statement said.
“Five people, including the rabbi, who were present in the synagogue premises at the time of the attack were unharmed,” it said.
“Prosecutors were investigating the attack as an attempted murder linked to a terrorist group and a crime planned by a terrorist group with the intent to destroy and damage property by dangerous means,” the statement said.
Following the attack on Saturday (August 24, 2024), Mr. Darmanin ordered the deployment of police forces to protect Jewish places of worship, as it was “clearly a criminal act”.
“I want to assure my Jewish fellow citizens of my full support and say that, at the request of President Emmanuel Macron, all means are being mobilised to find the culprit,” Mr Darmanin wrote on X. He also ordered more police officers to be deployed at Jewish places of worship across the country following a rise in anti-Semitism since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October.
La Grande Motte Mayor Stéphane Rossignol said investigators were reviewing city surveillance video and said a lone suspect was seen at the scene of the attack.
“The person in question did not succeed in entering the synagogue, although that was clearly his intention,” Mr. Rossignol said in an interview with broadcaster France Info.
Prosecutors said a suspect seen in surveillance video was carrying a Palestinian flag and a weapon as he fled the scene. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations during the ongoing investigation.
President Emmanuel Macron said the attack on the synagogue was a “terrorist act” and assured that “every effort is being made to find the culprit”.
“The fight against anti-Semitism is a constant battle,” Mr. Macron said on XTV.
Atal, the acting prime minister, said the synagogue was the target of an “anti-Semitic attack”, a “shocking and horrific” act of violence.
“Once again, French Jews have been targeted and attacked because of their beliefs,” Mr. Attal said after the meetings in La Grande Motte. “We are angry and disappointed.”
“At least 200 police officers and other security personnel have been deployed to nab the culprit,” Mr Atal said.
Mr. Attal said the attacker who attacked the synagogue on Shabbat morning was “very determined” to cause harm and casualties, and he said initial evidence collected by investigators suggests “we narrowly avoided a tragedy.”