Teen held in France suspected of plotting attacks on embassies, government buildings

PARIS – The French authorities have detained a 17-year-old on suspicion of plotting attacks against embassies or official buildings, sources close to the investigation told AFP on Sept 6.

The teen was formally put under investigation and locked up on Sept 5, they said, confirming information first given by Le Parisien daily.

He was arrested on Sept 1 at his parents’ home where he lived in the western Sarthe region and suffered light injuries as he tried to escape police.

One of the sources said a search of the home found a pledge of allegiance to the terror group ISIS and a list of schools in Le Mans, Sarthe’s main city.

Alongside the list was written a quantity of litres, thought to possibly refer to ingredients for incendiary devices or chemical explosives.

The 17-year-old was also suspected of targeting the embassies of Israel, Britain and the US as well as the French Interior Ministry and various media headquarters, all located in Paris, plus the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

France’s national anti-terrorist prosecutors’ office refused to comment on the individual to AFP. The teenager’s lawyer also declined to respond.

One of the sources speaking to AFP said the teenager was understood to have confessed to plotting many of the alleged crimes.

He allegedly said he was determined to carry out his plans but that nothing operational had yet been done because they were large-scale attacks, the source said.

French anti-terrorist authorities have increased warnings over the past two years about minors becoming involved in radical plots.

The anti-terrorist prosecutors’ office in April told AFP that it counted 15 such cases in 2023, 18 in 2024 and 11 for the first half of 2025. With the latest case, the total number of incidents involving a minor this year has risen to at least 14. AFP