Police have apprehended a suspect believed to be behind Saturday’s attempted arson attack on a synagogue in La Grande-Motte in southern France.
According to CNN affiliate BFMTV, two elite police units detained the suspect during a raid in the nearby city of Nimes.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed that the suspect fired at the police during the operation.
“The alleged perpetrator of the arson attack on the synagogue has been detained. Thanks to the police, and mainly the RAID, who intervened with great professionalism despite his gunfire,” Darmanin wrote on social media site X, acknowledging the elite unit of the National Police.
BFMTV reported that the suspect was injured in the gunfire but is not in critical condition.
The suspect, who was caught on security cameras carrying a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flag, set at least two vehicles on fire at the entrance to the Beth Yaacov synagogue in La Grande-Motte on Saturday morning.
A gas balloon was in one of the vehicles, and as a result, both vehicles exploded and the flames reached the synagogue's doors.
One police officer was injured and evacuated to a hospital.
“Our thoughts are with the congregation at the Grande-Motte synagogue and all the Jews of our country. Everything is being done to find the perpetrator of this terrorist act and to protect places of worship,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. “The fight against antisemitism is a constant battle, that of a united nation.”
French anti-terrorism prosecutors confirmed in an email to CNN that they are overseeing the investigation.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced that the explosion is being investigated as a terror attack.
“Once again, our fellow Jewish citizens have been targeted,” Attal wrote on X. “In the face of antisemitism, in the face of violence, we will never be intimidated.”
France has seen a dramatic increase in incidents of antisemitism since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and the war in Gaza which followed.
Last month, MK Sharren Haskel revealed that her 88-year-old grandmother was violently attacked in France after she was seen wearing a Star of David necklace.
In June, a 12-year-old Jewish girl was raped in a park in the Paris suburbs. Two 13-year-old boys have been charged with rape and making antisemitic insults.
Before that, vandals painted dozens of blood-red hands on the Wall of the Righteous, a memorial for the French citizens who risked their lives to save Jews during the Second World War, at the Mémorial de la Shoah Holocaust museum in Paris.
In early August, France ordered additional security measures at Jewish sites across the country, saying there was danger of revenge attacks after the elimination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.