France: 17-Year-Old Arrested for Planning Attacks for ISIS

Hat tip Francois Desouche

French authorities have announced the arrest of a 17-year-old "youth" who was allegedly planning to carry out terror attacks on behalf of ISIS. The arrest was apparently carried out in the town of Allones in the Department of Sarthe in Northwestern France. According to the French Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, he sees a troubling increase in the number of Islamic youth being radicalized on social media. He stated that in over 70% of the recent attacks that have been thwarted in France, the arrestees are under the age of 21.

The below article in Le Point is translated by Fousesquawk.

Sarthe: A 17-year-old youth arrested for "plans to attack" in the name of the Islamic State

By Lola Dhers for Le Point

Published June 22, 2025 at 21:03

Caption: Bruno Retailleau, Minister of the Interior, on June 2, 2025

"The terrorist menace never stops." The Minister of Interior announced on Sunday, June 22 on LCI*, the arrest in Sarthe, last Friday, of a "17-year-old youth who wanted to prepare attacks against places of worship, particularly synagogues, against sex shops, and festive events."

The National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office (Pnat) has taken charge of the investigation. The youth has been charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism through crimes against persons and has been placed in provisional custody, a Pnat source tells Le Point. 

A source close to the case indicates that it concerns a plan of violent action-that the perpetrator was not at the point of carrying out the act. The suspect "was not at the point of committing an attack but was in the process of preparing," stated Bruno Retailleau on LCI.

Affiliated with Islamic State

Arrested by DGSI (General Directorate of Internal Security), the adolescent claimed an affiliation with the Islamic State (Daesh), the Minister of Interior also explained. According to a source close to the case, the youth was living in Allones in the Sarthe. He was known to the police for small crimes. He was trying to procure arms, and the synagogues that he researched were located in Paris.

This arrest illustrates once again the question of the growing involvement of minors in jihadist conflicts since the end of 2023. The Minister of Interior deplored the effect of social media on young people, which, according to him, contributes to their radicalization. "We see that clearly in more than 70% of the recent attacks that have been thwarted, it is youths under the age of 21, 22 years," he concluded.

* LCI: La Chaine Info (TV 1)