The incident took place at 3:30 a.m. in the western part of central Paris in front of the Bank of America building, just a few blocks from the Champs-Élysées boulevard. PNAT confirmed that it is conducting an investigation for “attempted arson or damage to another’s property by a dangerous means with a terrorist motive” and due to suspicion of a “terrorist criminal association”.
French Interior Minister Laurent Núñez praised the police on the X network for the quick intervention that foiled the “violent terrorist attack”. “Vigilance remains at a high level more than ever,” the minister emphasized.
The homemade explosive device that the man had with him consisted of a five-liter container filled with an unknown flammable substance and a detonation mechanism, AFP sources said. The charge contained approximately 650 grams of explosive powder. The device was taken over for analysis by the laboratory of the Paris police.
According to the initial findings of the police, both men arrived at the American Bank building on foot. While the detained person was placing the explosive in place, the other was filming the entire action on a mobile phone. The police disturbed the perpetrator at the moment when the arrested man tried to activate the explosive device with the help of a lighter.
According to AFP, the detainee told the police that he comes from Senegal and is a minor, but his identity is still being verified. He claims that he was recruited to the crime via the Snapchat social network and was promised 600 euros (roughly 15,000 crowns) for carrying out the attack.
Since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, Minister Nuñez has repeatedly sent out circulars in which he called on the authorities to be extremely vigilant due to the possibility of attacks on opponents of the Iranian regime, on Jewish places of worship and any objects related to the United States or Israel. According to AFP, all these potential targets are identified as possible targets of terrorist attacks.
The war in the Middle East began at the end of February with strikes by the US and Israel on Iran. Tehran and its backed militias are retaliating against US bases in Arab countries in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes that began at the end of February. One of these militias attacked a base in Iraqi Kurdistan with a drone and killed a French soldier.
