Explosion outside southern French synagogue injures police officer

An explosion outside a synagogue in the south of France injured a police officer on Saturday morning, a spokesman for the gendarmerie said.

No one inside the synagogue at La Grande-Motte on the Mediterranean coast near Montpellier was injured.

The spokesman for the gendarmerie, a branch of the armed forces responsible for internal security in some areas, was initially unable to say anything about the motive - including whether it was an anti-Semitic attack.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, writing on X, said the attempt to set fire to the synagogue "was clearly criminal." He assured "our Jewish fellow citizens" and the community of his full support.

All means have been mobilized to find the perpetrator, Darmanin said.

Initially two cars were set on fire outside the synagogue, and a gas cylinder exploded in one of the vehicles. Two doors of the synagogue were also set on fire.

However, it is unclear whether this happened before or after the explosion.