France Launches Terror Probe After Military-Grade Weapon Found Near Synagogue
French anti-terror prosecutors have opened an investigation after a military-grade weapon was discovered in a car parked near a synagogue in the Paris suburb of Sarcelles. No arrests have been made, and the motive remains unclear.
Anti-terror prosecutors in France launched an investigation on Sunday after at least one firearm was found in a vehicle parked near a synagogue in a northern suburb of Paris. The discovery was made on Saturday in Sarcelles, an area with a large Jewish population. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez described the weapon as "military-grade" and confirmed it was found close to one of the town's synagogues. Nunez stated that no motive has been established and no arrests have been made so far.
Prosecutors said they had opened an investigation "on charges of forming a terrorist criminal organisation with a view to preparing crimes involving attacks on persons and the transport, possession and acquisition of weapons in connection with a terrorist enterprise." The suspect car was parked near a cinema and restaurants in a busy neighborhood, according to AFP. Local media reported that around 300 people were evacuated as a precaution. AFP cited a police source as saying no explosives were found, but an assault-style rifle and a handgun were recovered.
France has seen a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Nunez said French police have foiled three planned attacks against the Jewish community so far this year, including a knife attack on a gendarme beneath the Arc de Triomphe in February. Last year, the country recorded 1,320 antisemitic acts, a threefold increase in three years. These acts constituted more than half of all anti-religious incidents, even though Jews make up less than 1% of the French population.
French President Emmanuel Macron criticized the rising "old demons" of antisemitism during a speech on Sunday, which he said had darkened France's past and present. Macron spoke at the unveiling of a statue honoring Captain Alfred Dreyfus, whose wrongful 19th-century treason conviction exposed deeply rooted anti-Jewish bias in France. Sunday marked 120 years since Dreyfus's exoneration by France's highest court. His statue now stands outside the Palace of Justice in Paris.
