Firebomb attack on the synagogue

On August 24, 2024, a man set fire to vehicles outside the Beth Yaacov synagogue in La Grande-Motte, in the Hérault, while worshippers were gathered for the Sabbath service, and detonated gas canisters. A police officer was injured while intervening; the worshippers were evacuated through a rear exit and the fire damaged the building.

The attack occurred in a France where antisemitic acts had risen sharply since the previous autumn. The perpetrator, apprehended the following day, had acted alone. The community of La Grande-Motte, small and seasonal, found itself under permanent police protection, as the country's major synagogues already were.