French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced that security authorities in his country have thwarted a plan to attack football events during the Paris Olympics. In a statement, Darmanin said that members of the General Directorate for Internal Security arrested an 18-year-old man from Chechnya on May 22, suspected of being behind the plan to attack football events taking place in the city of Saint-Étienne in southern France.
According to an initial investigation, the man was preparing an attack targeting the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in Saint-Étienne, which will host several football matches during the summer games. The planned attack aimed at fans and police forces, as the suspect intended to carry out the attack during the Olympic events "to die and become a martyr," according to the statement.
Darmanin did not mention any specific security threat against the football matches, but he stated that there are several potential threats, including those posed by extremist Islamic groups, violent environmental activists, extreme right-wing groups, and digital attacks from Russia or other enemies. The Paris Olympics will take place from July 26 to August 11, with football matches held in several French cities prior to the final in the Stade de France in Paris.
