Suspected of preparing a terrorist attack, a young Frenchman of Chechen origin, aged 16, was arrested by the DGSI (General Directorate of Internal Security) near Le Mans (Sarthe) on November 5. The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat) confirmed to FigaroTuesday November 12, his indictment for criminal terrorist association and his placement in pre-trial detention from November 8. To the newspaper, a source close to the investigation described this 16-year-old teenager as being “ disrupted and radicalized ».
During the search of his home, investigators found an imitation pistol and a knife. According to information from the file, the teenager also tried to acquire firearms from a gun store. His internet browsing shows heavy exposure to Islamic State propaganda, including videos showing attacks and instructions for making explosives. One of his specific searches concerned the synagogue in Le Mans, located a few kilometers from his home and already targeted by a planned attack last July.
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The trial of the assassination of Samuel Paty as a trigger
According to the first elements collected, the opening of the trial for the assassination of Samuel Paty, on November 4, would have played a triggering role in the suspect’s plans. Abdoullakh Anzorov, the terrorist who killed and beheaded Samuel Paty in October 2020, has become a “reference” for young and impressionable jihadists, as the DGSI recalls. In this sense, an investigation, presented to the Assize Court, demonstrated that profiles similar to that of the arrested suspect identify with figures like that of this assassin.
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This case also illustrates the Russian-speaking jihadist threat in France, already at the origin of several attacks since 2018. A judicial source revealed to Figaro last June that 32 legal proceedings targeting Caucasian individuals or groups were opened in France between 2014 and 2023.
