Ten face charges in France over suspected far-right terror plot

Police linked those arrested to extremist group urging people to combat Muslims

Angelique Chrisafis in Paris
Wed 27 Jun 2018 18.47 BST

Ten alleged extreme-right militants suspected of a terrorist plot to attack Muslims in France are to appear before a judge and face preliminary charges.

Nine men and one woman aged 32 to 69 – including one retired police officer – were arrested in raids across France on Saturday, in the Paris area, the Mediterranean island of Corsica and the western Charentes-Maritimes region.

Police had linked the ten to a little-known group called Action des Forces Operationnelles (Operational Forces Action), which urges French people to combat Muslims, or what it calls “the enemy within”. Rifles, handguns and homemade grenades were found during searches.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday that it had asked an investigating judge to file preliminary charges.

In a statement, the prosecutor said an array of weapons and potential bomb-making equipment were found and authorities feared a violent act but “at this stage” couldn’t determine the exact targets. The group, which was seeking to expand, offered combat and survivalist training and held meetings to define its objectives and how to attain them, the prosecutor said. Some had tested homemade grenades and explosives.

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