A man armed with a knife attempted to enter a Jewish school and a kosher grocery store in the city of Marseille before being overpowered by security personnel and arrested by police, French media reported.
The man was reported to attempt to enter the Yavne Jewish school in the city. Security guards turned him back, and he then attempted to enter the store before being wrestled to submission by the same guards.
A police official told media outlets that “students were confined to the school” during the incident and no injuries were reported.
“The man was immobilized until the arrival of [police],” she said.
Local police have reinforced security around Jewish sites in the city in the wake of the incident.
The Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), the country’s EJC affiliate, reacted on twitter :
Tentative d’attaque au couteau dans une épicerie cacher près d’une école juive à Marseille. Le @Crif salue l’action des agents de sécurité de l’école et de la police qui ont évité un nouveau drame. #stopantisemitisme
— CRIF (@Le_CRIF) March 5, 2021