French authorities have confirmed that a police officer sustained injuries following a car explosion that occurred outside a synagogue in La Grande-Motte – a popular seaside resort in the Hérault département in Occitanie in southern France, on Saturday morning.
La Grande Motte is home to approximately 8,500 permanent residents; however, the population significantly increases during the summer tourism season.
“This morning, an attempted arson, which is evidently a criminal act, impacted the synagogue in La Grande Motte,” France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote in a post on X. The minister further noted that all necessary measures are being taken to identify the individual or individuals responsible.
According to a statement from the National Anti-terrorism Prosecutor’s Office, authorities have opened a “terrorism investigation” after two vehicles, with one of them reportedly containing a gas canister, were ignited today at the Beth Yaacov synagogue complex in the coastal resort town near Montpellier.
Firefighters identified further blazes at two entrances of the synagogue. According to the statement, a police officer who approached the scene sustained injuries when a propane gas tank in one of the vehicles exploded. The statement also noted that five individuals, including the rabbi, who were inside the synagogue complex during the incident remained unharmed.
According to police reports, the fire caused damage to two doors of the religious structure, prompting the deployment of a team of bomb disposal specialists to the location.
The injured municipal police officer was swiftly transported to the emergency department of Montpellier University Hospital, and his injuries are said to be non-life-threatening.
According to local media reports, the mayor of La Grande-Motte, Stephane Rossignol, said that surveillance footage recorded an individual igniting vehicles in front of the synagogue. A police source informed the media that the suspected individual was observed departing from the vicinity and was reportedly adorned with a traditional keffiyeh scarf while carrying a Palestinian flag. He is still at large.
France has significantly heightened security measures at synagogues following a significant rise in anti-Semitic incidents in the country since 2023. This surge in incidents has been attributed to the attack on Israel by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in October, which led to Israel initiating an extensive anti-terrorist operation in Gaza.
In May, French police fatally shot a man who attempted to ignite a synagogue in Rouen. Earlier, in March, a 62-year-old man adorned in traditional Jewish headgear was attacked in Paris while exiting a synagogue. The assailant allegedly yelled ethnic slurs as he brought the victim down to the ground before escaping on foot.
In his post on X, French President Emmanuel Macron characterized today’s attack on the synagogue as a “terrorist act” and emphasized that “all efforts are being made to identify the individual responsible,” adding that “the struggle against anti-Semitism is an ongoing endeavor.”