Paris 2024: police arrest man who planned attack on Olympic stadium

A man has been arrested in southern France over plans to attack a soccer stadium that will be used in this summer’s Olympic Games, officials said.

The 18-year-old young man, of Chechen origin, was apprehended in Saint-Etienne on May 22 after authorities discovered evidence of an Islamist-inspired attack, according to authorities.

Interior Minister Gérard Darmanin congratulated the intelligence services for successfully foiling the first plot targeting the Games.

France is on alert ahead of the Olympic Games, which begin on July 26.

Authorities have not named the man arrested last week.

According to French media, he was arrested after exchanging encrypted messages with known Islamists. Photographs and videos of the stadium were also allegedly found on his phone and computer.

Mr. Darmanin explained that the suspect wanted to attack spectators and the police at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, the city’s main stadium, where several football matches are to take place.

He was “inspired by Islamist ideology,” he added.

The Parisian organizing committee for the Olympic Games congratulated the French authorities for their “efficiency”.

“We salute the efficiency of the services and their exceptional mobilization to ensure the security of the Games,” declared the committee in a press release sent to the AFP news agency.

The French government is using around 20,000 soldiers and more than 40,000 police officers to provide security for the Games. It will also benefit from the support of around 2,000 soldiers and police from other countries.

Security services screened a million people involved in the Games, including athletes, residents living near Olympic venues, medical staff and volunteers.

France has experienced several Islamist attacks in recent years.

In 2020, secondary school teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded in front of the school where he taught in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, after showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad during lessons.

His killer, Chechen Abdoullakh Anzorov, 18, was shot dead by police on the spot.