In France, a car explodes in front of a synagogue. A police officer is injured, the background to the incident is still unclear. The anti-terror prosecutor’s office is investigating.
La Grande-Motte – According to official reports, a police officer was injured in an explosion in front of a synagogue in the southern French coastal town of La Grande-Motte. The police officer was called to the synagogue because at least two cars were on fire, said Mayor Stéphan Rossignol on Saturday. According to official reports, a gas container in one of the cars then exploded.
According to Rossignol, surveillance cameras recorded a man setting fire to the vehicles in front of the Beth Yaacov Synagogue. Two doors of the building were damaged by the fire, a source at the gendarmerie explained. There was initially no information about the nature of the injuries or the condition of the police officer involved. The anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office has now taken over the investigation. This was confirmed by the authority of the German Press Agency Paris.
Attack on synagogue? France’s Interior Minister speaks of “obviously criminal” act
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin spoke on the online service X of an “obviously criminal” act. “I would like to assure our Jewish fellow citizens and the community of my full support,” wrote Darmanin. At the request of President Emmanuel Macron “All means are being mobilized” to find the perpetrator. According to sources close to him, the Interior Minister will travel to La Grande-Motte on Saturday.
The number of anti-Semitic crimes in France has increased following the attack by the radical Islamic Hamas on Israel on October 7 and the beginning of the Gaza-War has increased significantly. In Europe, the fear of many Jews is increasingAccording to the Jewish umbrella organization Crif, the number of such crimes has almost quadrupled within a year, from 436 to almost 1,700. After October 7, the numbers almost “exploded.” (dpa/AFP)
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