French police arrest man suspected of arson attack on synagogue | Crime news

On Saturday, the suspect is said to have set fire to two cars in the synagogue parking lot.

French police have arrested a man suspected of attempting to set fire to a synagogue in the southern French town of La Grande-Motte.

Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin announced on the social media platform X that the suspect had been arrested on Saturday night.

The anti-terrorism prosecutor's office responsible for the investigation announced early Sunday that the suspect had been arrested in Nîmes, southern France.

“Before the police could intervene, [the suspect] opened fire on the [police]who returned fire. The man was injured in the face,” the office said in a statement, adding that two other people had been arrested.

According to French media reports, citing sources familiar with the investigation, the suspect is a 33-year-old Algerian. However, local police would neither confirm this nor provide further details.

As the police announced on Saturday, the suspect had set two cars on fire in the synagogue's parking lot, one of which contained at least one gas bottle.

The gas cylinder exploded and a policeman who rushed to the scene after the fire broke out was injured.

In addition, two fires were set at the entrance to the synagogue, damaging two doors. However, these were quickly extinguished, investigators said.

There was no religious service at that time because it took place on Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, which lasts from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday.

A rabbi and four other people were in the synagogue at the time of the incident, but were unharmed.

France's interim Prime Minister Gabriel Attal visited the synagogue on Saturday and said they had “narrowly escaped an absolute tragedy”.

“Once again, French Jews have been targeted and attacked because of their faith,” Attal said.

“If the synagogue had been filled with believers … there would probably have been sacrifices.”

In early August, Darmanin said the government had counted 887 anti-Semitic acts in the country in 2024, almost a tripling in one year.

Following the attack, the government announced that police protection of synagogues, Jewish schools and shops would be increased throughout France.