French police kill gunman suspected of burning down synagogue
“The attacker set fire to several entrance doors to the synagogue and several cars,” Attal said after visiting the synagogue, adding that an “absolute tragedy” was narrowly averted thanks to the immediate reaction of firefighters and police.
Local media previously reported that the suspect set fire to two cars, one of which contained at least one fuel cylinder, in the synagogue parking lot around 8:30 a. m. (06:30 GMT).
French police stand guard after cars were set on fire outside the city’s synagogue in La Grande-Motte, France, on Saturday. (Reuters/Manón Cruz)
President Emmanuel Macron called the incident a terrorist attack. The Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office launched the investigation.
Police coverage of synagogues, as well as Jewish schools and shops, will be strengthened in France, the government said.
France, like European countries, has noted an increase in anti-Semitic incidents following Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7 and Israeli retaliation against Gaza.
Le Parisien, franceinfo and other media outlets said the suspect was seen on CCTV shortly before the attack with a Palestinian flag tied to his waist.
“This is an anti-Semitic attack. Once again, our fellow Jews are targeted,” Attal wrote earlier in X. “In the face of anti-Semitism, in the face of violence, we will never be intimidated. “
Police declined to provide further details.
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“Blowing up a fuel cylinder in a car in front of the Grande Motte synagogue at the scheduled arrival time of worshippers: this is just an attack on a place of worship, it is an attempt to kill Jews,” said Yonathan Arfi, who heads the CRIF, an umbrella organization of French Jewish groups. said in X.
La Grande-Motte is a port and beach town on the French Mediterranean coast.
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