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Fire at the Rouen synagogue: Gérald Darmanin denounces an “anti-Semitic act”
Fire at the Rouen synagogue: Gérald Darmanin denounces an “anti-Semitic act”
(franceinfo)
After the attempted fire of a synagogue in Rouen on May 17, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin denounced an “anti-Semitic act”. The suspect was shot dead by a police officer.
Still shaken, Chmouel Lubecki, the rabbi of the synagogue in Rouen (Seine-Maritime), agreed to allow France Télévisions teams to enter the synagogue, affected by the flames, on Friday May 17 in the morning. It was a little before 7 a.m. when a man climbed onto the roof and attacked the place of worship. While the police intervened, the man, still on the roof and armed, allegedly tried to attack them. After throwing an iron bar, he ran towards a police officer, threatening him with a knife.
After several warnings went unanswered, the police officer fired five times and shot the still threatening individual. Well beyond the Jewish community, many residents of Rouen expressed their fear. Anti-Semitic acts have exploded in France since the Hamas attacks on October 7 in Israel. The 25-year-old police officer who neutralized the attacker will soon be decorated.
