AN EXPLOSION at a synagogue near a popular destination hotspot in France is being treated as a terrorist attack.
Two cars were set ablaze inside the place of worship sparking a huge explosion that injured a police officer who was responding to the scene in La Grande-Motte near Montpellier.
XThe attacked occurred on Saturday in La Grande-Motte, a seaside resort close to Montpellier[/caption]
AFPThe alarm was raised at 8:40am[/caption]
AFPA police officer was injured in the blast[/caption]
An investigating source said: “The alarm was raised at around 8.30am.
“There was at least one violent explosion, and flames touched the door of the synagogue.
“A gas bottle was clearly stored in one of two cars parked directly outside the synagogue, and that’s what caused the explosion.
“A policeman who attempted to secure the area was badly injured and rushed to hospital.”
According to The Telegraph, the officer was rushed to hospital in nearby Montpelier after being knocked to the ground in the blast at about 8.40am local time as he was securing the perimeter of the building.
Firefighters attended the scene, and by 10am the fire had been brought under control. No other injuries have been reported
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the situation was being dealt with by specialist anti-terrorist prosecutors.
He said: “Police are currently looking for suspects, and reporting to anti-terrorist prosecutors.”
He also confirmed that a police officer was badly injured in the blast by the town’s synagogue and was rushed to hospital.
Mr Darmanin called for the “immediate reinforced protection” of all Jewish places of worship in France.
In a statement on X (formally Twitter) he said a “clear criminal attack’” had taken place in La Grande-Motte.
He wrote : ‘I want to assure our Jewish fellow citizens and the community of my full support and say that at the request of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, all means are being mobilized to find the perpetrator.”
Local media reported an intruder had broken into the synagogue, while CCTV showed an individual leaving the scene shortly before the incident.
Police are hunting the suspect as firefighters battle the fire in the tourist hotspot, which attracts two million holidaymakers every year.
Yonathan Arfi, the president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) meanwhile described ‘an attempt to kill Jews’.
He said a gas cylinder was detonated “in front of the synagogue of La Grande-Motte at the expected time of arrival of worshippers”.
The French government has regularly denounced an increase in anti-Semitic acts as tension continues to rise due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East.
Hussein Bourgi, a Socialist Senator in the Hérault department, where La Grande-Motte is situated, said: “I would like to express my full solidarity with the Jewish community of La Grande Motte as well as its president, Sabine Atlan.”
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