French police kill man trying to set fire to synagogue

French police have shot dead an armed man who was trying to set fire to a synagogue in the northern city of Rouen.

Police, who were called to the site because of smoke coming out of the building, shot the man when he threw an iron bar at them and threatened them with a knife as he left the synagogue, a Rouen city official said.

"National police in Rouen neutralised early this morning an armed individual who clearly wanted to set fire to the city's synagogue," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on X, formerly Twitter.