At least two cars – with one containing a gas canister – were set ablaze on Saturday morning outside a synagogue in La Grande-Motte in Hérault (southern France), Belga News Agency reports. French Home Affairs Minister Gérald Darmanin has described the act as "clearly criminal".
A local police officer was injured during the incident, reported Stéphan Rossignol, Mayor of the resort town of 8,500 residents near Montpellier. He did not provide further information about the officer's condition, but added that city surveillance cameras captured footage of an individual setting fire to the vehicles.
The explosion outside the Beth Yaacov Synagogue occurred on the Sabbath (the Jewish day of rest), but no service was taking place at the time, noted a source from the team leading the investigation. Two doors of the religious building were damaged by the fire. The police officer was the only person to sustain injuries.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and Home Affairs Minister Gérald Darmanin, who had earlier called the act "clearly criminal" on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), swiftly announced their intent to visit the site in the afternoon. Local Prefect François-Xavier Lauch also paid a visit to the site early on Saturday.
"I want to assure our Jewish citizens and the community of my full support, and state that on President Emmanuel Macron's order, all means are being mobilised to find the perpetrator," Darmanin emphasised.
Une tentative d’incendie, manifestement criminelle, a touché la synagogue de la Grande Motte ce matin. Je veux assurer nos concitoyens juifs et la commune de tout mon soutien et dire qu’à la demande du Président de la République @EmmanuelMacron, tous les moyens sont mobilisés…
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) August 24, 2024
Darmanin also announced that he had requested all prefects to immediately step up protection of Jewish places of worship, as well as Jewish schools.
The government has regularly condemned an increase in antisemitic acts since the conflict in Gaza began on 7 October 2023. Antisemitic actions have nearly tripled since the start of the year, with "887 incidents" recorded in the first half, compared to 304 in the same period in 2023.
President of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, Yonathan Arfi, strongly condemned the act to AFP as "an attempt to kill Jews."
"Using a gas bottle in a car at the time when worshippers are assumed to arrive at a synagogue is not just arson; it is not simply about damaging a building or place of worship, it is the intent to kill," Arfi stated.
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The Public Prosecutor's Office has entrusted the investigation to the anti-terrorist branch of the Judicial Police, according to a source close to the investigation.
"Once again, our Jewish citizens are being targeted. [...] I have been informed that the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office has taken over the investigation. The security forces are currently tracking down the suspect," Prime Minister Gabriel Attal wrote on X.
Meanwhile, in response to the incident, French President Emmanuel Macron said that "everything is being done to find the perpetrator of this terrorist act and protect places of worship."
"The fight against anti-Semitism is a constant battle, that of a united nation," he continued, sending his thoughts to "the faithful of the synagogue of La Grande-Motte and to all Jews of France."
