French police arrest synagogue blast suspect

French police arrest synagogue blast suspect

French police have arrested a man suspected of starting fires and causing an explosion outside a synagogue in a southern resort area.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed that the suspect was apprehended on Saturday and praised the police for their “great professionalism.”

Reports indicate that the suspect was shot and wounded by police after he fired at them during his arrest in the city of Nîmes.

Earlier that day, a police officer was injured in an explosion outside the Beth Yaacov synagogue in the nearby seaside resort of La Grande-Motte. The officer’s injuries are not considered life-threatening; the blast occurred between 08:00 and 08:30 local time (07:00-07:30 BST).

Authorities noted that five people, including the rabbi, were inside the synagogue at the time. The explosion was triggered by two cars set on fire outside the building, with one vehicle containing a hidden gas canister. The suspect, who was reportedly carrying a Palestinian flag, also ignited several entrance doors of the synagogue.

Jewish community leader Yonathan Arfi said the incident was “an attempt to kill Jews” and seemed to have been timed to target Saturday morning worshippers.

President Emmanuel Macron said the incident was “a terrorist act”.

One eyewitness, who asked to remain anonymous, told the BBC: “Just as we were coming round the last corner, there was a huge explosion – a fireball into the air.

“It was surreal, like a film. We didn’t go any further.”

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and Mr Darmanin visited the site on Saturday evening. Both had earlier condemned the attack, with Mr. Attal calling it “an antisemitic act”.

“What happened here shocks and scandalizes all Republicans in our country,” Mr. Attat said during the visit.

“Because the reality is that once again, French Jews have been targeted, attacked because of their beliefs.”

Mr Attal said an “absolute tragedy” had been “narrowly avoided” as “there would have been victims” if the synagogue had been full of worshippers.

Both Mr Attal and Mr Darmanin said security would be strengthened outside synagogues.

“I want to assure our Jewish fellow citizens and the municipality of my full support,” Mr Darmanin said earlier in the day.

The French Jewish community already lives under high security, with many synagogues and Jewish schools under police protection.

A January 2024 report by the Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) said there had been a nearly threefold increase in antisemitic acts in France between 2022 and 2023.

In May, police shot dead a man after a synagogue in the north-western city of Rouen was set on fire.

In 2015, two days after the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine, four people were murdered in a hostage attack on a kosher supermarket.

The explosion comes amid heightened concerns for Europe’s Jewish community after the latest survey from the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) published last month found that Jewish people in the bloc continue to face high levels of antisemitism.

More than 8,000 Jews in 13 EU countries, including Germany and France, were interviewed. Some 96% said they had encountered antisemitism in their daily lives.

There has been widespread condemnation of the attempted arson attack across France’s political spectrum.

Left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon called it an “intolerable crime”, while the far-right National Rally’s Jordan Bardella said it was “a criminal and antisemitic act”.