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 le
PARIS тАФ 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.
FranceтАЩs acting interior minister ordered police reinforcements to protect Jewish places of worship after the suspected arson
French President Emmanuel Macron calls the attack тАЬan act of terror,тАЭ adding in a post on X that тАЬthe fight against antisemitism is a daily fight.тАЭ
тАЬSending thoughts to the faithful of the synagogue of La Grande-Motte and all the Jews of our country,тАЭ Macron wrote, promising that all efforts were being made to apprehend the perpetrator and to тАЬprotect places of worship.тАЭ
Police were hunting for the suspect and the anti-terrorism prosecutorтАЩs office was put in charge of the investigation, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said.
A French gendarmerie officer blocks a road near a synagogue following a fire and explosion of cars in La Grande-Motte, south of France, on August 24, 2024 (Pascal Guyot/AFP)
тАЬThis is an antisemitic attack. Once more, our Jewish compatriots are targeted,тАЭ Attal said on X, adding: тАЬWe wonтАЩt give up. In the face of antisemitism, in the face of violence, we will never allow ourselves to be intimidated.тАЭ
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.
