French authorities have arrested a 27-year-old Tunisian man suspected of plotting a jihadist-inspired attack in Paris, the national anti-terror prosecutor’s office said.
The suspect was detained on May 7th following a preliminary investigation into a possible “terrorist criminal conspiracy.” He was later placed in pre-trial detention. According to investigators, he had considered carrying out an attack on a Paris museum and targeting members of the Jewish community, although no specific site had been definitively selected.
Sources cited by French media reported that the Louvre museum was among the potential targets, along with areas linked to the Jewish community in the capital’s 16th arrondissement.
Authorities also claimed the suspect had contemplated travelling abroad to join the Islamic State group, with Syria and Mozambique mentioned as possible destinations.
The investigation, led by France’s internal security service (DGSI) and a specialised counter-terrorism police unit, uncovered significant digital evidence. According to reports, the man’s phone contained jihadist propaganda videos, hundreds of images of weapons, and online activity related to extremist content. He had also allegedly searched for instructions such as “how to make a bomb.”
The suspect, who was born in Djerba in 1999, arrived in France in 2022 after entering Europe via the Italian island of Lampedusa.
