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French police arrest the suspect for the explosion near the synagogue

2024-08-25 12:34:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

French police have arrested a suspect in an arson attack at a synagogue in the southwestern town of La Grande Motte, where a police officer was injured, Acting Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Sunday.

Two cars parked in the parking lot of the Beth Yaacov Synagogue in La Grande Motte, near Montpellier, were set on fire on Saturday after 8:00 p.m. Firefighters discovered additional fires at the synagogue's two entrances.

A police officer who went to the scene was injured when a gas can exploded near the burning cars.

Five people, including the rabbi, were in the synagogue at the time of the attack, but they escaped without injury.

"The suspect for deliberate arson in the synagogue has been arrested", said Gerald Darmanin in X.

French prosecutors said the suspect was arrested in the southern city of Nimes shortly before midnight on Saturday.

"He added to the police unit that intervened. Police returned fire and wounded [the suspect] in the face," the National Counter-Terrorism Office said on Sunday.

Two other people related to the suspect have also been taken into custody, she said.

Prosecutors are investigating the case as attempted murder related to a terrorist group and damage to property by dangerous means, as well as a crime planned by a terrorist group with the intent to cause harm, the communiqué states.

After this incident, Darmanin ordered the security forces to protect Jewish religious places after "this clear criminal act".

Prosecutors said a male suspect was caught on surveillance cameras fleeing the scene with a Palestinian flag in hand and a gun. They spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with the rules of the investigative process.

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, said that the attack on the synagogue was a "terrorist act".

"The fight against anti-Semitism is a continuous battle," wrote Macron in X./REL