The iinister says officers came under fire during operation; images show suspect wearing Palestinian flag as he set fire to police cars, synagogue doors; 2 associates also detained

LA GRANDE MOTTE, France (AFP)–Police arrested a man suspected of setting fires and causing an explosion at a synagogue in southern France on Saturday in what officials suspect was a terror attack, the country’s interior minister said.

“The suspected perpetrator of the criminal fires at the synagogue has been detained,” interior minister Gerald Darmanin said on X, adding that officers who made the arrest came under fire.

Police had said they were hunting for a man who, draped in a Palestinian flag, was believed to have set fires at a synagogue and triggered an explosion that injured an officer in the seaside resort of La Grande Motte.

An official source who asked not to be named told AFP the arrest took place in the nearby town of Nimes. An official in the state prosecution service added that two people associated with the suspect were also detained.

France’s interim prime minister Gabriel Attal earlier visited the site of the attack along with Darmanin and said: “We narrowly avoided an absolute tragedy.”

Full story here.