Cars are set on fire and police officer injured by explosion next to French synagogue in 'clear criminal attack'
Two cars were set ablaze following an explosion next to a synagogue in France today in a ‘clear criminal attack’ on the Jewish place of worship.
Firefighters, police, and the gendermerie arrived at the scene near Beth Yaacov synagogue at around 8.40am local time on Saturday morning.
Emergency services discovered two doors as well as two cars set alight, with a policeman hurled to the ground by the explosion.
The police officer was injured in the incident, which occurred in La Grande-Motte - a southern seaside resort close to Montpellier.
‘The alarm was raised at around 8.30am,’ said an investigating source. ‘There was at least one violent explosion, and flames touched the door of the synagogue.
Two cars were set alight near a a synagogue in France today in what has been described as a ‘clear criminal attack’ on the Jewish place of worship by officials (Picutred: The blaze near the synagogue)
Firefighters, police, and the gendermerie arrived at the scene near synagogue at around 8.40am local time today. The fire has since been brought under control and no reported injuries (Pictured: Smoke rising into the air)
‘A gas bottle was clearly stored in one of two cars parked directly outside the synagogue, and that’s what caused the explosion.
‘A policeman who attempted to secure the area was badly injured and rushed to hospital.’
According to The Mirror, CCTV footage captured someone fleeing the scene before the inferno began. A gas bottle was later discovered inside one of the burnt out vehicles.
By 10am firefighters had brought the blaze under control, with no further injuries reported.
It comes as tensions have risen in France, along with anti-Semitic incidents in recent months, due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East.
France has the largest Jewish community in Europe, made up of around 500,000 people.
Gerald Darmanin, France’s Interior Ministry, said the incident was a ‘clear criminal attack’.
He wrote on Twitter X: ‘I want to assure our Jewish fellow citizens and the community of my full support and say that at the request of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, all means are being mobilized to find the perpetrator.’.
Both Darmanin and Prime Minister Gabriel Attal are to travel to the site of the explosion later today, according to AFP.
France's Minister of Interior, Gerald Darmanin (Pictured) described the incident as a ‘clear criminal attack’
Law enforcement officers and firefighters stand in front of the synagogue building following the fire and explosion in La Grande-Motte
Firefighters attended the scene, and by 10am the fire had been brought under control, with no further injuries (Pictured: law enforcement at the scene)
Hussein Bourgi, a Socialist Senator in the Hérault department, where La Grande-Motte is situated, said: ‘I would like to express my full solidarity with the Jewish community of La Grande Motte as well as its president, Sabine Atlan.’
In May, an Algerian immigrant who was in France illegally was shot dead by police after throwing a Molotov Cocktail through a synagogue window.
The 29-year-old, who was armed with a knife, was hit four times by an officer who discharged his service revolver outside the building in Rouen, Normandy.
A judicial enquiry was opened into ‘arson with an anti-religious motivation’ and ‘intentional violence against persons holding public office,’ and is ongoing.
This comes shortly after a Holocaust memorial in Paris was defaced with red hands in an apparent reference to the rising civilian death toll in Gaza and the West Bank.
