On Friday morning, police in Rouen*, France, about 50 kilometers north of Paris, confronted a man who was trying to set fire to the city's synagogue. As he charged police with a large knife, he was shot dead.
The man is described only as an Algerian male who was in the country illegally.
Interior Minister Gerald Dramanin traveled to Rouen and praised the actions of police and firefighters.
*Rouen is the city where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431.
Attempt to set fire to the Rouen synagogue: "A particularly serious anti-Semitic act, " denounced (by) Gerald Darmanin.
For the Interior Minister, the attempted setting of a fire to the Rouen synagogue by a man shot dead by police Friday morning is, "Evidently, an anti-Semitic act". Gerald Darmanin announced that he was going to decorate the police officer who fired the shot.
Rouen
Friday, May 17, 2024 at 14:42
Caption: Gerald Darmanin at Rouen after the attempted setting of a fire at the city synagogue by a man shot to death by police.
A few hours after the attempt to set fire to the Rouen synagogue by a man shot dead by police, the Minister of Interior, Gerald Darmanin, traveled to the Norman city to address his "support to the city of Rouen, to the Jews of Rouen and of France". For him, it is "evidently, an act of anti-Semitism, which took place at a sacred place for the Republic, a place of worship".
Gerald Darmanin declared that "this act touches all of us deeply," expressing regret for the disgraceful, unacceptable violence against France's Jews. He stated that Rouen was not the object of any particular threats."
The officer who fired the shots will be decorated
The minister wished to salute the work of the firefighters and police who intervened Friday morning and who faced "an individual who was particularly dangerous and violent."
"This individual, with a large knife, rushed at a young deputy police officer, age 25, who was extremely courageous and professional," Gerald Dramanin emphasized, who stated that he (the officer) had reason to use his weapon. For that, the officer, (placed on limited duty) within the framework of an investigation being carried out by IGPN (National Police General Inspection Service), will "be decorated by the Republic for his support to the protection of places of worship".
"Personally, I am fed with this criticism of the police. I have decided to decorate this officer because I believe he did his job," said the minister.
The suspect was in the files of wanted persons
The man who was shot dead was not a French citizen, but "of Algerian origin", the Minister of Interior stated. He had filed a request to the Prefecture of Seine-Maritime in 2022 to obtain a residence permit as a "sick foreigner". But also according to Gerald Darmanin, this request was refused after consultation with a doctor. "He was then ordered to be taken to the border," but the man filed an appeal. At the end of January 2024, "this appeal failed- the tribunal agreed with the Minister of Interior".
The man was not classified as S (terrorist or security threat), and was unknown to police or intelligence, Gerald Darmanin noted. On the other hand, he was listed in the files of wanted persons for several weeks.
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