A 27-year-old Tunisian man named Dhafer M was arrested on alleged terror charges in the Paris region and later placed in pretrial detention.
According to Le Monde, confirmed by the French National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT), he was picked up on on May 7 and indicted on May 11 for “criminal terrorist association with a view to committing crimes against persons”.
A reportedly potential terrorist attack targeting the Louvre Museum appears to have been foiled after a simple traffic stop in Paris.
Dhafer M, who was living illegally in France, is suspected of allegedly planning a violent jihadist-inspired attack. He had allegedly spoken about targeting the Louvre and members of the Jewish community in Paris’ 16th arrondissement, although he had reportedly not chosen a specific target yet. He was also allegedly thinking of joining ISIS in Syria or Mozambique.
On April 28, police stopped him in central Paris. He was driving on a fake licence. Born in Djerba, Tunisia, in 1999, he had arrived in France in 2022 via Lampedusa, Italy, looking for work. Since he had no valid residence papers, he was sent to an administrative detention centre.
When police checked his phone, they allegedly found many jihadist propaganda videos, hundreds of photos of guns and knives and a profile picture on social media showing an ISIS fighter executing prisoners. There was reportedly also a video of him raising his index finger — a common jihadist sign — while saying “Allahu Akbar.”
He had allegedly chatted on encrypted messaging apps with people abroad about terrorist plans and mentioned knowing ways to get into the Louvre and possibly planting explosives there.
A video of the museum’s front was reportedly saved on his phone. He also allegedly talked about making ricin poison and attacking Jews in the 16th arrondissement, where he often worked. He reportedly said he regretted coming to France, a country of “infidels” and wanted to leave to join ISIS.
His ChatGPT searches allegedly showed questions including “how to make a bomb, how to get chemicals for explosives, and what damage 100 grams of TNT could cause”. He had also reportedly looked up jihadist groups in Syria, Mozambique, and Niger.
After nine days in detention, a judge ordered his release but anti-terrorism police from France’s domestic intelligence service (DGSI) arrested him immediately as he left. During questioning, he denied planning any attack and said he was only curious about how ISIS supporters think. His lawyer has not made any public comment.
The investigation was opened on May 6 and is being handled by the DGSI and Paris’ anti-terrorist police unit.
