A 33-year-old man is being prosecuted for an attack on a synagogue in southern France last week.
The man fled after the explosion but was later arrested. He is now preliminarily charged with attempted murder and arson motivated by racial or religious reasons, as well as armed violence against the police. The incident is being investigated as a terrorist offense.
The explosion, which occurred in the town of La Motte near Montpellier, happened when two cars were set on fire. The rescue services discovered several fires at two entrances to the synagogue, and a police officer who arrived was injured when a gas tank in one of the vehicles exploded.
In questioning, the suspected man said he acted to support Palestine and to provoke a reaction from the Israeli government, according to France's national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office.
The man has for a long time "harbored hatred towards Jews, specifically focused on the situation in Palestine", writes the prosecutor's office in a statement.
The man carried out the attack on the synagogue alone, but two people are being prosecuted as suspects, among other things, for having driven the man and for having known about the plans.
