Ten people suspected of allegedly preparing the murder of politicians in France have been arrested, Le Monde reported citing a source close to the probe.
The suspects are allegedly linked to far-right groups in France. Nine were reportedly arrested in the morning and the tenth was apprehended in the early afternoon as part of an investigation conducted by the Anti-Terrorist Branch of the Judicial Police and the Directorate General Intelligence. The suspects were placed in custody, the judicial source said.
The alleged group's mastermind, Logan Alexandre Nisin, 21, arrested on June 28 in Tarascon has been placed under an investigation for association with criminals connected to a terror cell.
France has been in a state of emergency since November 2015 following terror attacks in Paris and Saint-Denis that had left 130 people killed. Despite the additional costly security measures, the country has been targeted by 20 terror attacks — the deadliest one claiming over 80 lives in Nice in 2016 — and numerous attacks on members of police and the military. The latter have prompted severe criticism over the state of emergency' numerous extensions from politicians and general public.
Earlier this month, a knife-wielding man of Tunisian origin attacked two women in Marseille before being shot by police on October 1. Over a week later, police detained an attacker armed with a knife in the city of Nice. The state of emergency is set to expire on November 1.
