Two young men have been placed under formal investigation in France for planning a “deadly and antisemitic” attack, the counterterrorism prosecutor’s office (PNAT) said in a statement.
The suspects, a 22-year-old engineering student and an unemployed 20-year-old who are brothers, were arrested after police found a semi-automatic firearm, a bottle of acid, and an ISIS flag in their car during a roadside police stop near a prison in northern France, PNAT said. It gave no details about the nature of the planned attack or its target.
The two are being investigated on charges of criminal terrorist conspiracy and possessing a weapon in connection with a terrorist undertaking, and have been placed in pre-trial detention. The PNAT did not release the suspects’ full identities.
The French authorities said jihadist propaganda was found on the suspects’ digital devices, and one of the brothers had filmed a video pledging allegiance to ISIS.
Antisemitism in France has soared since Hamas’s attack sparked the war in Gaza. The country saw 1,570 antisemitic incidents in 2024, nearly four times the average level before the October 7 assault, according to the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions.
