17/05/24
Police shoot knifeman dead as he tries to set fire to a synagogue in French city Rouen
French police have killed an armed man who wanted to set fire to a synagogue in the north-western city of Rouen, France's interior minister has said.
The man was armed with a knife and an iron bar and when he went towards police they shot him, reports say.
Rouen Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol said the attack on the synagogue did not just affect the Jewish community, but the entire city was "battered and in shock".
Police were called at around 06:45 (04:45 GMT) after smoke was seen rising from the synagogue, according to local reports.
When they reached the scene one of the officers shot the man.
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.
Damage inside the synagogue has been described as "significant". 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 third largest Jewish community in the world, after Israel and the US. One of the leading figures in its Jewish community, Elie Korchia, thanked police for their quick response to "a new antisemitic drama in our country".
Rouen's places of worship have come under attack in the past. Eight years ago a priest was fatally stabbed while leading a church service.
The latest violence comes days after gunmen shot dead two prison officers in an ambush at a motorway toll south of the city. Convicted prisoner Mohamed Amra escaped during the attack and his still on the run.
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