Explosions Outside a France Synagogue Were a Terrorist Attack, Prosecutors Say

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Explosions Outside a France Synagogue Were a ********** *******, Prosecutors Say

Two vehicles parked outside a synagogue exploded in a French town on Saturday in what prosecutors called an act of terrorism.

The cars exploded outside the Ben Yacoov synagogue in La Grande Motte, a resort town on the southern coast of France. The synagogue’s doors were also set on *****, prosecutors said in a statement.

Prosecutors are treating the ******* as an attempted ************** by a ********** organization intended to cause harm and ******** property, according to a statement from the antiterrorism unit in the prosecutor’s office.

Gérald Darmanin, the French interior minister,

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on social media later Saturday that a suspect had been arrested in the case but did not provide further details.

Five people, including the ******, were inside the synagogue at the time of the *******, around 8 a.m., as worshipers would have been making their way to the synagogue.

No one was *******, but one police officer responding to the explosions was hurt when a gas bottle inside one of the vehicles exploded, the antiterrorism unit said in its statement.

The ******* is likely to heighten fears of growing antisemitism in France, which has the largest ******* population in Western Europe. Attacks against ******* people in France have increased in recent years, and the government said it had recorded more than 360 antisemitic episodes in the first three months of 2024. The *******-****** war has further heightened tensions in a society increasingly divided by religion and ideology.

President Emmanuel Macron vowed that the perpetrators would be tracked down, and that ******* places of worship in France would be protected.

“The ****** against antisemitism is a constant battle,” Mr. Macron said, adding that it was a ****** for “a ******* nation.”

Officials in the municipality of Hérault, which includes La Grande Motte, said the city would be vigilant in protecting buildings associated with its ******* community.

The municipality also canceled a demonstration planned for Saturday in nearby Montpellier by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which seeks to mobilize economic and political pressure on ******* over its treatment of Palestinians.

During France’s recent elections, the country’s left, particularly Jean-Luc Melénchon, the founder of France Unbowed, was accused of fanning antisemitism.

After Saturday’s explosions, Mr. Melénchon

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as an “intolerable ******” and called on France to uphold principles of secularism.

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#Explosions #France #Synagogue #********** #******* #Prosecutors

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