Alleged Plot Against Macron During Trump Visit Is Foiled

Suspect allegedly talked about attack on Bastille Day, when Trump is visiting
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 3, 2017 1:00 PM CDT
Police May Have Foiled Plot to Kill Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks in the palace of Versailles, outside Paris, on Monday.   (Eric Ferferberg/Pool Photo via AP)

French authorities say a man has been hit with preliminary terrorism charges for plotting an attack on President Emmanuel Macron—at a time when President Trump would be visiting. A Paris prosecutor's office spokeswoman says that the 23-year-old suspect's plans were vague and that he appeared to be acting alone. She said the man was arrested in the Argenteuil suburb Thursday, and told police of a plan to attack Macron on Bastille Day on July 14. Macron will oversee a military parade in Paris that day alongside Trump, per the AP. It wasn't clear whether Trump's presence was a factor in the alleged plot.

The suspect was given preliminary charges Saturday of individual terrorist activity. Police found three kitchen knives in his vehicle and said he'd been looking up potential targets on the internet. Police say he also expressed nationalist views, voicing a desire to attack "Muslims, Jews, blacks, homosexuals," per AFP. The man previously spent time in prison for condoning terrorism by praising the 2011 attack by Norwegian Anders Breivik that left 77 people dead. (More Emmanuel Macron stories.)

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