Speaking on BFMTV about the attempted attack in front of the Bank of America in Paris on Saturday, March 28, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez linked the event to the war in the Middle East.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez made the “link” between the attempted attack in Paris targeting the Bank of America and the war in the Middle East on BFMTV on Saturday, March 28, noting “similarities” between this action and operations carried out in other European countries in recent days that were claimed by a small group.
The Interior Minister explained on our antenna that “this case reminds us of similar actions that have taken place in other European countries” such as the Netherlands.
“I draw a connection with actions taken in neighboring countries (…) which have resulted” and have been followed by “claims of a small group referring to the conflict,” emphasized Laurent Nuñez.
One suspect arrested, another actively sought
A man was arrested on the night of Friday to Saturday, March 28, as he was about to set fire to an improvised explosive device in front of the Paris headquarters of Bank of America in the 8th arrondissement of the capital. The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation, particularly for “attempted degradation by fire or dangerous means in connection with a terrorist enterprise.”
Another man, present at the scene at the time of the arrest, managed to escape and is actively sought by the authorities. During his detention, the man arrested that night claimed to be a minor. According to his statements, he is 17 years old and of Senegalese nationality. He also provided an address in the Seine-Saint-Denis department.
According to a police source, the suspect claims to have been dropped off by a man in a car and to have been recruited via the social network Snapchat to commit this attack in exchange for the sum of 600 euros.
15 individuals particularly monitored by authorities
According to BFMTV sources, several dozen people are being monitored by intelligence on national territory for suspected links to Iranian networks and Lebanese Hezbollah. Among these targets, 15 individuals are particularly monitored.
According to our information, the risks of violent action on our territory primarily come from two organizations: the Lebanese Hezbollah and its cell responsible for external operations, as well as the Al-Quds Force, the elite unit of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which recruits individuals from delinquency or organized crime for missions abroad who are unaware of their sponsors and are generally rewarded without asking questions.
In France, a member of the DZ Mafia, for example, was recruited by an intermediary to set fire to company premises linked to Israel, in Toulouse and Lyon, at the beginning of 2024. According to our information, a dozen Iranian opponents have been under police protection in France since the beginning of the war on February 28.
