French Police Arrest Suspect in Alleged Olympic Attack Plot

Officials have disclosed the arrest of a man in southern France over ploy to attack a football stadium which will be used during this summer's Olympic Games.

According to the report, the 18-year-old of Chechen origin was apprehended in Saint-Etienne right after authorities found evidence of an Islamist-inspired attack.

France is on high alert in the run-up to the Olympics, which start on 26 July. The Interior Minister Gérard Darmanin praised the intelligence services for successfully foiling the first plot targeting the Games.

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

Mr Darmanin said the suspect wanted to attack spectators and security forces at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, the city's main stadium, where a number of football games are set to take place.

He was "inspired by the Islamist" ideology, he added.

The Paris committee organising the Olympics praised French authorities on their "efficiency".

"We applaud the efficiency of the services and their exceptional mobilisation to ensure the security of the Games," the committee said in their report.

The French government is deploying around 20,000 soldiers and over 40,000 police officers for security at the Games, with additional support from approximately 2,000 troops and police officers from other countries.

Security services are screening one million individuals involved in the Games, including athletes, nearby residents, medical staff, and volunteers. France has experienced several Islamist attacks in recent years.

In 2020, secondary school teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded outside his school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine after showing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in class. His killer, 18-year-old Chechen Abdoullakh Anzorov, was shot dead by police at the scene.