The brother of the Tunisian jihadist who carried out the 2016 Nice truck attack has been arrested armed with a knife near the Promenade des Anglais, the very site where 86 people were murdered and hundreds more injured.
Local residents had repeatedly complained about his behavior, describing him as aggressive and intimidating. The reports state that he had been squatting in the area and that police eventually intervened.
French police detained the man in a security operation in the heart of Nice, according to local reports.
It doesn’t appear that the arrest is terrorism-related. It appears to concern public order rather than any renewed terror investigation, though the proximity of the site, and the date might be indicators of more.
The property he squatted was initially rented to a woman who claimed to be a victim of domestic violence.
According to the building manager, she was actually the sister of the infamous terrorist Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel and never lived there herself.
Instead, his brother allegedly moved in with several other people. The manager says her life quickly became a nightmare.
She alleges he repeatedly threatened her, at one point saying he would “pour diesel and set it on fire,” and warning, “You don’t know who my brother is. I’m the terrorist’s brother.”
She also claims he stopped paying rent, vandalised the property, and deliberately left water running for hours, causing severe flooding in neighboring apartments.
“I’m in danger every time I come here. He breaks everything, he doesn’t behave normally,” she said.
The owner said she repeatedly alerted the police, but they did not always reply.
This changed on June 9, when he was arrested.
The 2016 attack, in which Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel drove a lorry into crowds celebrating Bastille Day, remains one of the deadliest terrorist incidents in France in modern times.
The perpetrator was killed by police at the scene.
Investigations later revealed significant intelligence failures and questions over how the attacker was radicalised so quickly.
The arrest of his brother has sent a chill through the city.
Residents and local politicians have expressed frustration that, nearly a decade on, individuals connected to the attack are still active in the area.
French authorities have faced repeated criticism for their handling of returning jihadists, radicalised individuals, and their networks, particularly in cities such as Nice, Marseille, and the Paris suburbs.
Interior Ministry sources described the operation as “preventive,” but details about specific charges or evidence have not yet been released.
The arrest comes at a time when France continues to face a high terror threat level, with authorities warning of both Islamist and other extremist risks.
The Promenade des Anglais, once a symbol of the French Riviera’s carefree elegance, is now also a place of remembrance, with memorials to the victims still prominent along the seafront.
France’s domestic intelligence agency, the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Intérieure (DGSI), is facing internal pushback over government pressure to elevate “masculinist” ideology to the level of a major counter-terrorism priority. https://t.co/YMIfu9aFXO
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) May 1, 2026
