French police on Friday killed a man after a synagogue was set on fire in the north-western city of Rouen.
According to reports, the man approached the police brandishing a knife and an iron rod, and one of them shot him.
According to Rouen Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, the city was left “battered and in shock” by the synagogue attack, which had an impact beyond the Jewish community.
Local accounts, smoke was noticed rising from the synagogue at approximately 06:45 (04:45 GMT), prompting police to be contacted
Firefighters at the scene eventually brought the fire under control inside the synagogue. There appeared to be no victims other than the armed man, the mayor said.
The local public prosecutor said two investigations were under way – into the arson attack on a place of worship and into the death of the man outside the building.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin praised police “for their responsiveness and courage “.
France, in common with the rest of Western Europe, has seen a surge in antisemitism since Hamas attacked southern Israel last October leading to the current war in Gaza.
Earlier this week a memorial in Paris that honours 3,900 men and women who helped rescue Jews during the Nazi occupation of France in World War Two was daubed with red-painted hands.
President Emmanuel Macron said defacing the wall undermined the memory of France’s heroes and its victims of the Holocaust.
France has the world’s third largest Jewish community, after Israel and the United States.
Yonathan Arfi, the head of France’s Council of Jewish Institutions (Crif), stated that “setting a synagogue on fire – that’s intending to intimidate every Jew”.
Another prominent member of the Jewish community, Elie Korchia, hailed police for their prompt response to “a new antisemitic drama in our country”.
Rouen’s places of worship have already been attacked. Eight years ago, a priest was fatally murdered while conducting a church service.
The latest incident came just days after gunmen killed two jail officers in an ambush at a toll plaza south of the city. Convicted prisoner Mohamed Amra escaped during the incident and is now on the run.
