French Police Kill Armed Man Suspected of Setting Fire to Synagogue

French police have shot and killed an armed man suspected of setting fire to a synagogue in the southern city of La Grande-Motte. The incident has been condemned as a terrorist attack by President Emmanuel Macron.

*French police have shot and killed an armed man suspected of setting fire to a synagogue in the southern city of La Grande-Motte.*

French Police Kill Armed Man Suspected of Setting Fire to Synagogue

*The incident, which occurred on Saturday morning, has been condemned as a terrorist attack by President Emmanuel Macron.*

*Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said that about 200 police officers were involved in the hunt for the suspect, who was seen on CCTV shortly before the attack with a Palestinian flag tied round his waist.*

French Police Kill Armed Man Suspected of Setting Fire to Synagogue

*Attal said that the suspect had set fire to several entry doors to the synagogue and several cars, and that an "absolute tragedy" had been narrowly averted after firefighters and police arrived quickly at the scene.*

*A police officer was slightly injured when a gas bottle exploded as police secured the site of the attack.*

*The anti-terrorism prosecutor's office has been placed in charge of the investigation.*

*Police protection of synagogues, Jewish schools and shops will be stepped up across France, the government said.*

*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.*

*Yonathan Arfi, who leads the CRIF, an umbrella organisation of French Jewish groups, said: "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."*

*La Grande-Motte is a port and resort city on the French Mediterranean coast.*

*The attack is the latest in a series of antisemitic incidents in France in recent months.*

*In April, a man armed with a knife attacked a Jewish school in Sarcelles, on the outskirts of Paris, injuring one person.*

*In May, a Jewish cemetery in Quatzenheim, eastern France, was vandalized, with dozens of graves desecrated.*

*The French government has condemned the attacks and vowed to crack down on antisemitism.*

*President Macron has said that France will not tolerate antisemitism and that the country will do everything it can to protect its Jewish citizens.*

*The Jewish community in France is the largest in Europe, with an estimated population of around 500,000 people.*

*Antisemitism has been on the rise in France in recent years, with a number of high-profile attacks on Jewish people and institutions.*

*The French government has taken steps to combat antisemitism, including increasing security at Jewish schools and synagogues and launching a national campaign against hate speech.*

*However, antisemitic incidents continue to occur, and the Jewish community in France remains on high alert.*