The man threatened at least four worshippers several times as they entered the synagogue. He then pulled out a knife, but did not stab anyone with it, according to the public prosecutor’s office.

A man armed with a knife was arrested after shouting antisemitic insults near a synagogue on Friday in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez announced.

“The individual has been arrested and the investigation, entrusted to my services, is ongoing,” he said. “Security around places of worship and establishments frequented by our Jewish compatriots has been reinforced in the Hauts-de-Seine department and will remain so for the next few days,” he added.

According to Neuilly mayor Jean-Christophe Fromantin, on Friday at around 5:30 p.m., “an individual in his forties shouted anti-Semitic and incoherent insults at members of the Jewish community. He was carrying a knife.”

He threatened at least four worshippers several times as they entered the synagogue. He then pulled out a knife, but did not stab anyone with it, according to the public prosecutor’s office.

Two of the victims then fled. A third, who was pursued, took refuge at the entrance to a nearby Dior luxury brand store. It was there that the man was arrested “without difficulty,” the prosecutor’s office confirmed. He was taken into custody at the Neuilly police station.

The Nanterre public prosecutor’s office announced on Saturday that it had opened an investigation into threats with weapons and intentional violence based on religious affiliation.

”Almost every day an antisemitic act occurs in France,” noted Olivier Benkemoun, a journalist from CNEWS channel.

Some 646 anti-Semitic acts were recorded in France from January to June 2025, 27.5% less than in the same period in 2024 but significantly more than in 2023, before the unprecedented attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023.