Anti-terrorism prosecutors in France launched an investigation on Sunday after at least one gun was found in a car parked near a synagogue in a Paris suburb.
France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish population, has seen a rise in anti-Semitic crimes since the start of Israel’s war against the Palestinian military group, Hamas, in Gaza.
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The discovery was made on Saturday in the Sarcelles area of northern Paris, where a large Jewish population lives.
According to Interior Minister Laurent Núñez, the gun found was a “military-grade weapon” and was found near a synagogue in the city.
Nunez said no motive has been established and no arrests have been made so far.
Prosecutors said they had launched an investigation into charges of “forming a terrorist criminal organization for the purpose of preparing attacks on individuals in connection with a terrorist enterprise and crimes involving the transportation, possession and acquisition of weapons.”
The AFP news agency reported that the suspicious car was parked near a cinema and restaurant in a busy area.
Local media said the discovery prompted the evacuation of about 300 people.
AFP quoted a police source as saying that no explosives were found, but an assault-style rifle and a handgun were recovered.
Macron condemns ‘monsters’ of anti-Semitism
France has seen a sharp increase in anti-Semitism since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
French police have foiled three planned attacks on the Jewish community so far this year, Nunez said, including a knife attack on a gendarme beneath the Arc de Triomphe in February.
Last year, 1,320 anti-Semitic acts were recorded in the country, triple in three years.
These acts constituted more than half of all anti-religious incidents, even though Jews constituted less than 1% of the French population.
French President Emmanuel Macron criticized the growing “old demons” of anti-Semitism during a speech on Sunday, which he said has darkened France’s past and present.
Macron was attending the unveiling of a statue honoring Captain Alfred Dreyfus, whose 19th-century wrongful treason conviction exposed deep-rooted anti-Jewish prejudice in France.
Sunday marked 120 years since Dreyfus was acquitted by France’s highest court. His statue now stands outside the Court, Palace of Justice in Paris.
Dreyfus, who was Jewish, received a life sentence after being falsely accused of passing military secrets to Germany.
Critics said that Dreyfus was used as a scapegoat by the French military and he was later acquitted of all charges.
Edited by: Jennifer Cimino Gonzalez