Three women detained in France over planned terrorist attack

French intelligence services have detained three women suspected of planning a terrorist attack targeting a cultural venue in Paris using explosives, BFMTV reports.

The arrests were carried out in early October by officers from the Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI) after several months of surveillance.

The women were apprehended in Vierzon (Cher department), Lyon, and the Lyon suburb of Vierban (Rhône department). One of the suspects has a disability and uses a wheelchair.

Investigators say the group intended to carry out a bombing using explosive belts in a bar or concert hall in the French capital. All three women, aged between 18 and 21, are French nationals and describe themselves as followers of Salafism.

One of the suspects managed a TikTok account where she posted content supporting radical Islamists. She was also a member of a Telegram group that shared ISIS propaganda and in which she solicited assistance from other members to organise an attack using firearms and explosives.

The women met multiple times in Lyon in September, prompting DGSI to suspect they were preparing the final stages of the planned attack. Further investigation revealed that one of the women had pledged allegiance to ISIS.

During a search of the 19-year-old ringleader’s home, authorities discovered sketches of the planned attack, ingredients for explosives, and money intended for purchasing automatic weapons.

When questioned, she admitted to being “impulsive” and “incapable of seeing things through to the end.”

Nevertheless, she openly expressed her disdain for the French system, stating her desire to “live under Sharia” and her preference for religious law over the laws of the French Republic.

By Tamilla Hasanova