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Far-right extremist arrested over suspected Paris Olympics plot - Security Source
July 17, 2024 | 03:32 PM
A far-right extremist has been arrested in France on suspicions he was preparing attacks during the Paris Olympics that open next week, a security source told AFP Wednesday on condition of anonymity.The 18-year-old suspected neo-Nazi was the administrator of a group on the Telegram phone application called "French Aryan division" where he made threats against the July 26-August 11 Paris Olympics, the source said.He was detained in the eastern Bas-Rhin region, which includes the city of Strasbourg, and was being questioned by anti-terror police.French security services are on high alert ahead of the Paris Games when around 10 million visitors and 10,000 athletes are expected in the French capital.In May, they arrested a Chechen teenager suspected of plotting an "Islamist-inspired" attack on an Olympics football game in the southeastern city of Saint-Etienne.Le Parisien newspaper, which first reported the arrest of the far-right suspect on Wednesday, said the young man had followers on Telegram who were prepared to mount attacks and had threatened violence against a Paris-based drag queen who took part in the Olympic torch rally at the weekend.
July 17, 2024 | 03:32 PM