PARIS-. The authorities of France They foiled three plots to attack the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris and in other cities that hosted evidence, the national anti-terrorism prosecutor said Wednesday.
Olivier Christen said the plans included targeting “Israeli institutions or representatives of Israel in Paris” during the Olympics, which took place between July 26 and August 11. The prosecutor told France Info that “the Israeli team itself was not a specific target,” but did not provide further details.
In total, five people – one of them a minor – were arrested for their alleged involvement in the three foiled plots against the Games, which took place against the backdrop of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the Russian war in Ukraine. The suspects face several terrorism-related charges and are in pre-trial detention, the prosecutor said.
France has been on high alert since the months leading up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which closed on Sunday. During the build-up, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin repeatedly said security threats came from Islamic extremist groups, violent environmental activists and far-right groups, as well as cyberattacks from Russia or other adversaries.
In May, members of the General Directorate of Internal Security arrested an 18-year-old Chechen who was allegedly behind a plot to attack Olympic football matches scheduled for the southern city of Saint-Etienne.
The target was “bar-type establishments in the vicinity of the Geoffroy stadium,” the prosecutor said. The suspect is accused of planning “a violent action” in the name of the jihadist ideology of the extremist group Islamic State.
Jihadist threats dominated the foiled plots and 80% of the legal proceedings against suspects involved the extremist ideology that remains influential among French youth, according to the prosecutor. Islamic State continues to “spread propaganda,” he added.
Preventive measures included increasing house searches and arrests ahead of the start of the Games, the prosecutor said, adding that police and other security forces have carried out 936 home searches so far in 2024, compared with 153 last year.
