French authorities have foiled three plots to attack the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris and other cities hosting the summer events, the state anti-terrorism prosecutor announced on Wednesday.
Olivier Christian said the plots included plans to attack "Israeli institutions or Israeli representatives in Paris" during the Olympic Games from July 26 to August 11. The prosecutor told France Info that "the Israeli team itself was not specifically targeted." He did not provide further details.
In total, five people, including a minor, were arrested on suspicion of involvement in three foiled plots against the summer games, organized in the context of the war between Israel and Hamas and the Russian war in Ukraine. The prosecutor said the suspects face various terrorism-related charges while in pre-trial detention.
In the run-up to the Games, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin repeatedly warned that security threats came from Islamic extremist groups, violent environmental activists, far-right groups and cyberattacks from Russia or other adversaries. In May, members of the Director General of Homeland Security arrested an 18-year-old Chechnya man, suspected of having lagged behind the attack on the Olympic football events organized in the southern city of Saint-Etienne.
The planned attack was to target establishments like a bar around the Jeffrey stadium, said the prosecutor. The suspects are accused of plotting "acts of violence" on behalf of Islamic State's jihadist ideology.
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