French police said they had arrested a man suspected of setting fire and causing an explosion outside a synagogue in a holiday resort in southern France.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said the “suspected perpetrator” was arrested on Saturday. He added that the police had shown “great professionalism”.
French media reported that the suspect was shot and injured by police after he opened fire on officers attempting to arrest him in the city of Nîmes.
The previous Saturday, a police officer was injured in the explosion in front of the Beth Yaacov synagogue in the nearby seaside resort of La Grande-Motte.
The police officer’s injuries following the explosion, which occurred between 08:00 and 08:30 local time (07:00-07:30 BST) on Saturday, are not believed to be life-threatening.
According to authorities, five people, including the rabbi, were in the synagogue at the time.
The explosion was caused by two cars that were set on fire in front of the building.
Police sources told French media that a gas bottle was hidden in one of the vehicles.
The suspect, who reportedly carried a Palestinian flag, also set fire to several of the synagogue’s entrance doors.
Jewish community leader Yonathan Arfi said the incident was “an attempt to kill Jews” and appeared to have been timed to target Saturday morning worshipers.
President Emmanuel Macron described the incident as “a terrorist act.”
An eyewitness who wished to remain anonymous told the BBC: “Just as we came around the final bend there was a huge explosion – a fireball in the air.”
“It was surreal, like a movie. We didn’t move on.”
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and Mr Darmanin visited the site on Saturday evening. Both had previously condemned the attack, with Mr Attal calling it an “anti-Semitic act”.
“What happened here shocks and outrages all Republicans in our country,” Attat said during the visit.
“Because the reality is that French Jews have once again been targeted and attacked because of their faith.”
Mr Attal said an “absolute tragedy” had been “narrowly avoided” because “there would have been casualties” if the synagogue had been full of worshippers.
Both Mr Attal and Mr Darmanin said security outside synagogues would be increased.
“I would like to assure our Jewish fellow citizens and the community of my full support,” Mr Darmanin said earlier the same day.
The Jewish community in France already lives under high security precautions; many synagogues and Jewish schools are under police protection.
A January 2024 report by the Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) states that anti-Semitic acts in France almost tripled between 2022 and 2023.
In May, police shot dead a man after a synagogue in the northwestern city of Rouen set on fire.
In 2015, two days after the attacks on the magazine Charlie Hebdo, four people murdered in a hostage-taking attack in a kosher supermarket.
The explosion comes amid growing concern about the Jewish community in Europe after the latest survey by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published last month found that Jews in the bloc continue to face high levels of anti-Semitism.
More than 8,000 Jews in 13 EU countries, including Germany and France, were surveyed. About 96 percent of respondents said they had been confronted with anti-Semitism in their daily lives.
The attempted arson attack was met with widespread rejection across the French political spectrum.
Left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon called it an “intolerable crime”, while Jordan Bardella of the far-right Rassemblement National (Rassemblement National) spoke of a “criminal and anti-Semitic act”.
