French authorities arrest suspect in an explosion at a synagogue that injured a police officer

NICE, France — French police have apprehended and detained a suspect in an arson attack on a synagogue in a southwestern Mediterranean town that injured a police officer, the country’s acting interior minister said Sunday. Two cars parked at the Beth Yaacov synagogue complex in the seaside resort town of La Grande Motte, near Montpellier, were set ablaze just after 8 a.m. Saturday. “The alleged perpetrator of the arson attack on the synagogue has been arrested,” Gerald Darmanin, the acting interior minister, said in a post on X. “He opened fire on the police intervention unit, which returned fire, injuring (the suspect) in the face,” the National Antiterrorism Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement Sunday. Prosecutors were investigating the attack as an attempted assassination linked to a terrorist group and destruction of property with dangerous means, and a crime planned by a terrorist group with an intent to cause harm, the statement said. After the attack Saturday, Darmanin ordered police reinforcements to protect Jewish places of worship following what was “clearly a criminal act.” “I want to assure our Jewish fellow citizens of my full support and say that at the request of President Emmanuel Macron all means are being mobilized to find the perpetrator,” Darmanin posted on X. The mayor of La Grande Motte, Stéphan Rossignol, said that investigators were reviewing the city’s surveillance videos and said that a lone suspect was spotted at the site of the attack. “The individual in question did not manage to get inside the synagogue, even though that was clearly his objective.” Rossignol said in an interview with broadcaster France Info. President Emmanuel Macron said the synagogue attack was a “terrorist act” and assured that ”everything is being done to find (the) perpetrator.” “The fight against antisemitism is a constant battle,” Macron said on X. Attal, the acting prime minister, said the synagogue was targeted in the “antisemitic attack,” a “shocking and appalling” act of violence. “Once again, French Jews have been targeted and attacked because of their beliefs,” Attal said after meetings in La Grand Motte. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/france-authorities-arrest-suspect-explosion-synagogue-rcna168113