The synagogue in La Grande-Motte was reportedly the target of an arson attack. A gas cylinder exploded in a car in front of the entrance. Gérald Darmanin and Gabriel Attal will be going to the scene this afternoon.
A fire broke out on Saturday, August 24 in front of the Beth Yaacov synagogue in La Grande-Motte (Hérault). According to information from BFMTVfirefighters intervened around 8:30 a.m. Two cars parked in front of the place of worship were on fire. A gas cylinder was reportedly stored in one of them. According to video surveillance images, a suspicious individual was leaving the scene a few moments before the flames ravaged the site. The doors of the synagogue were hit, but no one inside was injured. However, a municipal police officer was hit while setting up a security system. The exact cause or severity of his injury is not yet known.
A “manifestly criminal” act
In addition to the firefighters, bomb disposal experts were dispatched to the scene to try to control the fire. Gendarmes from the investigation unit of the Hérault group were also mobilized to carry out the initial observations.
An attempted arson attack, clearly criminal, hit the synagogue of La Grande Motte this morning. I want to assure our Jewish fellow citizens and the municipality of my full support and say that at the request of the President of the Republic @EmmanuelMacronall means are mobilized
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) August 24, 2024
Informed of the situation, the resigning Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, asked the prefects to reinforce the static presence of the police in front of Jewish places of worship. He speaks on X of a “manifestly criminal” act. He will go there in the afternoon, accompanied by the resigning Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal.