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Five go on trial for Paris attack plan near Elysee

The trial of three French men and two foreigners opened in Paris on Monday for allegedly planning a jihadist attack near France's presidential palace, the Elysee.

Five go on trial for Paris attack plan near Elysee
A picture shows the Elysee Palace in Paris (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP)

The five, two of whom were minors at the time of the suspected plot, are charged with membership in a terrorist organisation.

After becoming aware of the group because of its backing for radical Islamist ideology and armed jihad, France’s domestic intelligence service DGSI dispatched two undercover agents to infiltrate the gang.

As well as the three French men, one member was born in Russia and another in Algeria.

According to the charges, what the agents heard at meetings, in addition to wiretap evidence, led police to suspect a plot for “a violent action targeting the surroundings of the Elysee palace, police guards and, possibly, civilians on the Champs-Elysees”, a  tourist hotspot close to the presidential palace.

In April 2019 one of the undercover agents, using the pseudonym Abu Mohamed, sent a post on the Telegram messaging service saying he had acquired two Kalashnikov assault rifles and left them in a Paris flat near the Gare du Nord.

Two days later two group members accompanied by the second undercover agent turned up to pick up the rifles and were arrested as they left the flat.

Another two men, one of whom allegedly helped finance the plot, were picked up later.

And the fifth was arrested accused of failing to alert the authorities when he was aware of the group’s plans.

The trial, most of which will be held behind closed doors to protect minors, is set to end on April 19th.

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CRIME

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

French prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old man and a youth in the Paris region with planning a "terrorist" attack on Jewish targets, a judicial source told AFP on Friday.

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

While no details on the pair have been released, French anti-terrorist investigators have expressed increased concern over the young age of some suspects detained in recent months for planning militant attacks.

The 19-year-old has been charged with “terrorist conspiracy” to commit attacks and the “acquisition and possession of arms for a terrorist enterprise,” said the judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

READ ALSO: Anti-Semitism fears stalk Jewish voters’ choice in France

The youth aged under 18 was detained on June 13, the source said.

The pair made contact on social media and were planning a “a violent action notably aiming at Jewish targets,” said the source without giving details on the plot.

Anti-terrorism investigators say a growing number of youths have been held in recent months for preparing attacks.

READ ALSO: French election breakdown: TV debates, polling latest and anti-Semitism

“This is a necessarily worrying phenomenon,” senior anti-terrorist prosecutor Olivier Christen said at an evidentiary hearing on Wednesday.

French politicians have also condemned a growing number of attacks on the country’s Jewish community, the biggest outside Israel and the United States.

Outrage has been expressed over the rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a park in the Paris suburbs last Saturday. Two 13-year-old boys have been charged with rape and making anti-Semitic insults.

Several protest rallies have been held in Paris and other French cities over the case which comes as France prepares for a national election in which the far-right National Rally party is tipped to make major gains. 

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