Minor indicted for planned terrorist attack: what we know

Arrested on November 5, the young 16-year-old Frenchman is suspected of preparing a terrorist attack. He was indicted on November 8.

The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (Pnat) confirmed this Tuesday, November 12, with ;s of Figaro and of Ouest-France that a minor was indicted on November 8 for “criminal terrorist association with a view to committing crimes against persons”. Placed in pretrial detention, this young Frenchman of Czech origin born in 2008 is suspected of preparing an attack. In Le Figaro, a source close to the case confided that the teenager was “disturbed” and radicalized”.

Arrested on the outskirts of Le Mans, in Sarthe, on November 5, the young man was particularly active on the Internet. He is said to have watched numerous propaganda videos from the Islamic State. According to his browsing history, this minor is also said to have carried out research concerning the synagogue in Le Mans, and more precisely its location. The religious establishment is said to be located a few kilometers from his home and may have been his potential target.

A search was carried out at his home. A knife and a fake gun were discovered, we learn again Le Figaro. Finally, concerning the exact motivations of the young teenager, the first elements of the investigation suggest that the opening of the trial for the assassination of Samuel Paty, on November 4, could have been a trigger. On October 16, 2020, Abdoullakh Anzorov, a young Russian of Chechen origin, also aged 18, beheaded the history-geography teacher as he left the college where he taught.