The French government is to decorate a police officer who shot dead an Algerian migrant male who was under a years-old deportation order, and who set fire to a synagogue on Friday morning.

A 29-year-old Algerian migrant carrying a 10″ knife was shot dead early this morning by police. The man had allegedly climbed onto the roof of a synagogue in the city of Rouen in northern France, smashed a window, and thrown in an incendiary device.

 

Public prosecutor Frédéric Teillet said, per Le Figaro, that police responded to a public report of smoke rising from the building, and when they arrived they called for a man carrying a knife and a chisel on top of a wall at the building to come down. Instead, the man insulted the officers and threw a chisel at them.

France’s Minister for Interior and Overseas Gerald Darmanin talks to the press outside a synagogue in the Normandy city of Rouen on May 17, 2024, where French police shot dead earlier a man armed with a knife and a crowbar who was trying to set fire to the building. Two separate investigations have been opened, one into the fire at the synagogue and another into the circumstances of the death of the individual killed by the police, the prosecutor said. The man threatened a police officer with a knife and the latter used his service weapon, he added. (Photo by Lou Benoist / AFP) (Photo by LOU BENOIST/AFP via Getty Images)

During the confrontation officers were forced to fall back and, feeling threatened, one of the police fired five shots, four of which struck the Algerian. He was given first aid but died at the scene.

Per normal procedure the officer who used his weapon was placed into detention until the justification of the shooting is confirmed. Nevertheless the French interior minister has made clear the government’s view on the matter, and says the officer who opened fire will be decorated by the state for his “extremely courageous, extremely professional” conduct.

The motive is being investigated, but the prosecutor is considering “arson due to religion… intentional violence against persons holding public authority”.

Elie Korchia, President of French Jewish group Consistoire Central wrote of the attack, and thanked police for preventing a greater tragedy. He said: “On this Shabbat eve, an armed individual who wanted to set fire to the consistorial synagogue of Rouen was neutralized by the police, who were nearby. Thank you to our law enforcement who avoided a new anti-Semitic tragedy in our country.”

Rouen mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol said: “the attempted burning of the synagogue … it is not only the Israelite community that is affected. The entire town is bruised and in shock.” The mayor called a rally in the town centre for Friday evening.

The suspect, a 29-year-old Algerian migrant was in receipt of a OQTF, an ‘Obligation de quitter la France’ or order to leave the country after his application for leave to remain made in 2022 was denied, meaning he shouldn’t have been in the country at all to launch the attack. French police cited in national media reports state that the man was not on any extremism or terrorism watch lists.

The synagogue sustained  “significant” fire damage, but fortunately there were no other injuries. The Jerusalem Post cited Rabbi Shmuel Lubecki of Rouen who said police had not yet allowed him into the synagogue to inspect the damage, but apparently the holy books had not been harmed. He said: “the Torah scrolls were not touched. It’s the most important thing there is in the synagogue.”

 

Many European states have seen soaring levels of antisemitic attacks since Hamas launched its deadly terror strike against Israel last year, including France. As noted earlier this year, data from the nation’s Interior ministry and community groups showed a 280 per cent rise of attacks registered year-on-year, with the number of attacks just in the three months after October 7th equalling the number of attacks in the previous three years combined.