A 16-year-old boy has been arrested by anti-terrorism police in France after he allegedly said on social media that he wanted to “die a martyr” at the Paris Olympics this summer.
A spokesperson said Wednesday that the boy was arrested after he “publicly announced on social media that he planned to create an explosive belt to become a martyr.”
The teenager was arrested at his parents’ home on Tuesday after alleged Telegram posts from the previous day, BFMTV reported.
The French outlet also reported that a search of the teenager’s home found handwritten documents in which he allegedly declared his support for the Islamic State.
The spokesman said an investigation was underway to determine whether he had genuine intentions to commit a terrorist act.
It comes after French President Emmanuel Macron previously admitted that the The Olympic opening ceremony could be scaled back if the security threat is deemed too high.
Amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, France previously raised its security alert to its highest level.
Emmanuel Macron participates in the Club Varietes charity football match. Photo: Reuters
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The government also asked 45 foreign countries to contribute several thousand additional military, police and civilian personnel to help safeguard the games, Reuters reports.
Earlier this month, Macron said he was confident the opening ceremony, planned to take place on the Seine River, would go ahead, but that France had “plan B, and even plan C,” just in case.
This came amid concerns about possible threats to the security of the Games.
The July 26 event will be the first Olympic opening ceremony held outside a stadium and will see some 10,500 athletes parade through the heart of the French capital on some 160 boats down the Seine along a 6.7 kilometer route. .
But if problems arose, Macron said the ceremony could be limited to Paris’s central Trocadero square, in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Another option would be to move the event inside the Stade de France.