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President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on X that the arrest was the result of "excellent cooperation with the Palestinian Authority" and said he hopes for a "swift extradition."

Macron called the arrest "another step forward for justice and truth" and added: "My thoughts are with all the families who have endured the pain of waiting for so long."

The arrest of Harb -- long considered the ringleader -- marks a breakthrough in a case that has haunted France's Jewish community, the largest in Europe. Families of the victims and Jewish leaders have repeatedly pressed authorities to pursue justice in the Rue des Rosiers case for more than four decades.

Investigators say the arrests of other suspects -- all believed to be abroad if still alive, in countries including Jordan, Norway and the Palestinian territories -- have long been complicated by political sensitivities and lack of cooperation from foreign governments.

Macron is expected to announce France's recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week -- a step that would make France one of the most influential Western powers to endorse Palestinian statehood in recent years.