French police kill gunman suspected of setting fire to synagogue
“The attacker set fire to several entrance doors of the synagogue and several cars,” Attal said after visiting the synagogue, adding that an “absolute tragedy” was narrowly averted thanks to the immediate arrival of firefighters and police at the scene. place.
Local media earlier reported that the suspect set fire to two cars, one of which contained at least one bottle of fuel, in the synagogue’s parking lot around 8:30 a. m. (0630 GMT).
French police stand guard after cars were set on fire outside the city 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 tightened in France, the government said.
France, like other European countries, has seen a rise in anti-Semitic incidents following Hamas’ 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.
“It’s 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 allow ourselves to be intimidated. “
Police declined to give 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 Jewish people,” Yonathan Arfi said. , which runs CRIF, an umbrella organization of French Jewish groups, said in X.
La Grande-Motte is a port and a city beach on the French Mediterranean coast.
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