hérault

The Grande-Motte Synagogue was the target of an arson attack on the morning of Saturday 24 August. The suspect, a 33-year-old man, was arrested this afternoon by the police in Nîmes. The authorities are for the criminal way.

On the morning of Saturday, August 24, there was an arson attack in the Beth Yaacov synagogue in La Grande-Motte, causing great emotion within the local community. The events took place around 8:30 am, when two vehicles were reported on fire in front of the religious building. One of the vehicles exploded, apparently trapped by a gas cylinder, and several fires began to spread to the doors of the synagogue. Four separate fire incidents were reported by firefighters who responded.

A municipal police officer was slightly injured during the incident and taken to hospital. No other injuries were reported among worshipers present in the synagogue at the time. The authorities were quick to track the criminal, a suspicious person was seen by video surveillance cameras shortly before the attack. Police were actively looking for the man, who was identified by a Palestinian flag tied around his waist and a keffiyeh.

The outgoing Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, immediately responded by strongly condemning this act, which he described as “an arson that was clearly an attempt to criminalize “. He ensured that all means would be used to find the author of this attack. In a press release, he recalled that additional security measures were requested in front of Jewish places of worship last May, and he reiterated this request to the Hérault chief executive after this event.

At the end of the day, the suspect was located in a tower in the fragile area of ​​Pissevin, in Nîmes. The intervention was carried out jointly by the elite Raid units and the intervention groups from Marseille and Montpellier. During the operation, the suspect opened fire on the police, who returned fire, injuring him in the face. The man, of Algerian nationality, is known to the police for petty crimes and drug use, but he was not previously on file with the anti-terrorist services.

Three other people from the suspect’s entourage were arrested as part of this investigation. Investigations are continuing to determine the exact circumstances of the preparation of the attack and the suspect’s flight. The national anti-terrorism prosecutors took up the case, describing what happened as a “terrorist assassination attempt”.

The outgoing Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, went to the site in the early afternoon in the company of Gérald Darmanin. He confirmed that France would not give in to anti-Semitism and violence, stressing that the fight against these scourges is a constant battle for the country. The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, also expressed his support for the victims and confirmed the commitment of the State to protect places of worship throughout the country.