French police arrest synagogue blast suspect

French police say they have detained a man accused of starting fires and sparking an explosion outside a synagogue in a southern resort.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin stated that “the alleged perpetrator” was apprehended on Saturday. He went on to say that the cops had demonstrated “great professionalism”.
According to French media, police shot and injured the man after he opened fire on cops attempting to apprehend him in Nîmes.
Earlier on Saturday, a police officer was hurt in a blast near the Beth Yaacov synagogue in the adjacent coastal resort of La Grande-Motte.

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According to officials, there were five persons inside the synagogue at the time, including the rabbi.
The explosion was triggered by two automobiles that were set alight outside. According to police sources, one of the cars had a concealed gas canister.
The guy, who was apparently carrying a Palestinian flag, also set fire to the synagogue’s front doors.
Yonathan Arfi, a Jewish community leader, described the event as “an attempt to kill Jews” that appeared to be timed to target Saturday morning attendees.
President Emmanuel Macron described the event as “a terrorist act”.

An unnamed eyewitness informed the BBC that there was a large explosion and fireball as they approached the last turn.It was weird, like a movie. “We did not go any further.”
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and Mr. Darmanin paid a visit to the location on Saturday evening. Both had previously denounced the incident, with Mr Attal calling it “an antisemitic act”.
“What happened here shocks and scandalises all Republicans in our country,” Mr Attat said during the visit.
“Because the reality is that once again, French Jews have been targeted, attacked because of their beliefs.”

Because, once again, French Jews have been targeted and assaulted for their beliefs.
Mr Attal stated that a “absolute tragedy” was “narrowly avoided” because “there would have been victims” if the synagogue had been packed with attendees.
Both Mr Attal and Mr Darmanin stated that security will be increased outside synagogues.
“I want to assure our Jewish fellow citizens and the municipality of my full support,” Mr. Darmanin stated earlier in the day.

Many synagogues and Jewish institutions in France are already heavily guarded by police.
According to a January 2024 study by the Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), the number of antisemitic incidents in France increased nearly threefold between 2022 and 2023.

In May, police shot and killed a man after a synagogue in the north-western city of Rouen was set on fire.
In 2015, two days after the Charlie Hebdo magazine shootings, four individuals were killed in a hostage situation at a Jewish grocery.
The surge comes amid growing worry for Europe’s Jewish population, as the latest poll from the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), published last month, indicated that Jewish individuals in the region continue to endure high rates of antisemitism.

Over 8,000 Jews from 13 EU nations, including Germany and France, were questioned. Approximately 96% indicated they have faced antisemitism in their everyday lives.
The attempted arson assault has been widely condemned throughout the French political spectrum.
Left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon termed it a “intolerable crime,” while Jordan Bardella of the far-right National Rally described it as “a criminal and antisemitic act.”