Rouen: French Police Shoot Dead Armed Man Who Set Fire to Synagogue

On Friday, French police in Rouen fatally shot an armed man who had set fire to the city’s synagogue, according to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and local officials.

The incident took place in the central part of Rouen, located approximately 130 kilometers (80.78 miles) northwest of Paris, early on Friday morning, as Darmanin reported on the social network X.

The identity and motive of the attacker remain unknown. Local authorities stated that the man was armed with a knife and an iron bar.

In light of France hosting the Olympic Summer Games in two months and the country’s heightened alert status due to a complex geopolitical situation in the Middle East and Europe’s eastern regions, this incident raises significant security concerns.

Elie Korchia, president of France’s Consistoire Central Jewish worshippers body, commended the police for preventing what could have been another anti-Semitic tragedy.

The regional broadcaster France 3 reported that firefighters were promptly on the scene and managed to bring the fire under control.

An official from Rouen city hall confirmed the situation, while the mayor described the town as “battered and shocked.”

This event is particularly poignant for the city, which was deeply affected by a similar attack in 2016.

In that incident, later claimed by the Islamic State, a priest was killed with a knife during a service in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, a town in the southern part of Rouen’s urban area.

The recent attack adds to the ongoing challenges faced by French authorities in ensuring security amid a backdrop of heightened geopolitical tensions.

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