French police arrested a man on terrorism charges on Friday, accused of attempting to murder a taxi driver with a knife while expressing support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, according to a source at the terrorism prosecutor’s office.
As France gears up to host millions of visitors, athletes, and world leaders during the Paris Olympic Summer Games, which begin on July 26, the country is in its highest state of security.
The man, already known to authorities as someone who had been radicalised, reportedly stopped a taxi in the city of Le Mans on Tuesday night while brandishing a gun. He then forced the driver to an isolated area near Ferte-Bernard, where he bound and attacked the driver with a knife. The driver managed to escape to a local resident’s home and received treatment from emergency services. The assailant was arrested early on Friday morning in Yvelines, west of Paris.
The suspect is being investigated on charges of terrorism, attempted murder, and kidnapping.
This arrest follows a series of unrelated security incidents in the French capital this week. On Thursday, a police officer was critically injured in a stabbing attack in Paris’ Champs Elysees shopping district. Earlier in the week, a soldier was stabbed at a railway station, and authorities are investigating whether a car ramming into a cafe terrace was deliberate.
Melissa Enoch
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