“A tragedy was avoided […] because he (the suspect) hides when he sets fire to this synagogue where people live, especially the rabbi. And wait, no doubt, so we imagine, with the ax, with the axe, for the people to leave. He's following them,” the resigned interior minister told France 2. “As the gendarmes arrive very, very quickly – less than two minutes – on the scene,” Darmanin continued, “he leaves, he runs away.”
+ 200% for anti-Semitic acts
Regarding the profile of the suspect, the minister explained that this 33-year-old Algerian in a legal situation arrived on French territory “in 2018 through Spain” and had “a child in France in 2019”. He was injured in the face during his arrest on Saturday night. Three other people are in police custody.
“These people clearly have a connection to his travel,” he said, adding that the DGSI (Directorate General of Internal Security) “has not documented” the existence of “an external organization” that could have prompted him to take action. The minister insisted on the “very significant progression of anti-Semitic acts around the world”, since the bloody October 7 attack by Hamas in Israel, which immediately responded militarily in the Gaza Strip.
But, he continued, “since January 1, anti-Semitic acts have increased by almost 200 percent” in France.
A left side targeted by Darmanin
“Two-thirds of the anti-religious acts are against the Jews,” he said, denouncing the “hateful political speeches” of a “left wing” that he said fueled the threat weighing on the Jewish community. “The threat (to Jews) is very strong because there is hate speech against Jews in France and it must be denounced.” “We can clearly see that part of the left is unfortunately using this hate speech against our fellow Jews.”
“Deliberately setting fire to a synagogue where the rabbi and his family live while waiting with an ax is an anti-Semitic act, it must be denounced as such. Otherwise we create suspicion and gender confusion”, said the minister.