PARIS (Reuters) -A police officer was injured when a blazing car exploded in the car park of a synagogue in the southern French town of La Grande-Motte on Saturday, officials said, calling the incident a deliberate attack and saying security at Jewish institutions would be stepped up.
Police were hunting for a suspect and the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office was put in charge of the investigation, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said.
“This is an antisemitic attack. Once more, our Jewish compatriots are targeted,” Attal said on X, adding: “We won’t give up. In the face of anti-Semitism, in the face of violence, we will never allow ourselves to be intimidated.”
France, like other countries in Europe, has seen a surge in antisemitic incidents following the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s retaliatory assault on Gaza.
Local media said two cars, one of which contained at least one gas bottle, were set on fire in the synagogue’s parking area at about 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT).
“Exploding a gas bottle in a car in front of the Grande Motte synagogue at the expected time of arrival of the faithful: it’s not just attacking a place of worship, it’s an attempt to kill Jews,” Yonathan Arfi, who leads the CRIF, an umbrella organisation of French Jewish groups, said on X.
William Maury, of the police union Alliance Police Nationale, told BFM TV the injured police officer’s life was not in danger.
Police confirmed the attempted arson but declined to give more details.
Attal and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin were set to visit the synagogue later on Saturday. Darmanin said police protection of synagogues and Jewish schools and shops would be strengthened across France.
(Reporting by Ingrid Melander and Corentin Chappron;Editing by Helen Popper and Frances Kerry)
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