A terrorist-motivated murder investigation was launched in France today after a car fire and explosion outside a synagogue in the south of the country, with the French government denouncing an “anti-Semitic act” and increasing the presence of security forces in Jewish places of worship.

At least two cars, one of which contained an exploding gas cylinder, were set on fire this morning in front of a synagogue in the town of La Grand Motte, near Montpellier in southern France, injuring one person.

“There were five people inside the synagogue, including the rabbi, who were not injured,” the counter-terrorism prosecutor’s office, which is investigating the incident, said in a statement.

A member of the municipal police was injured, said Stéphane Rossignol, the city’s mayor.

CCTV cameras captured images of a suspect with a Palestinian flag on his waist, a source close to the investigation told AFP. As reported by France 3 and franceinfo, sources pointed out that a weapon, possibly a 9mm, can be seen in the images, but not clearly. The suspect fled the scene on foot.

“Everything is being done to identify the perpetrator of this terrorist attack and to protect places of worship,” French President Emmanuel Macron said.

For his part, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal spoke of X as “an anti-Semitic action. Once again, our Jewish fellow citizens are being targeted.”