Olympics in the sights

Attack prevented: Chechen arrested

The French authorities were apparently able to thwart an attack.(Bild: AP)

French investigators have apparently prevented a planned attack on the Olympic Games. An 18-year-old was arrested on May 22, as has now been revealed. His aim had been to attack soccer events in the city of Saint-Etienne.

According to the French security authorities, they have foiled plans to attack spectators and security forces during the Summer Olympics. An 18-year-old Chechen has been arrested. The French Ministry of the Interior announced that the plans had an Islamist background.

This was the "first foiled attack against the Olympic Games", which begin on July 26. The security authorities are particularly alarmed due to repeated attacks in France in recent years. The suspected terrorist apparently targeted the Geoffroy Guichard soccer stadium in Saint-Etienne, south-west of Lyon.

The suspect wanted to attack the Olympic events "to die and become a martyr", the statement continued. 

Conflicts fuel the threat situation
At the end of March, the highest of three alert levels was once again declared in France. The authorities were responding to the attack on the Crocus City Hill concert hall in a suburb of Moscow, which left more than 140 people dead and was claimed by the jihadist militia Islamic State.

Jihadists have already carried out several attacks in Paris, the worst of which was on November 13, 2015, when 130 people were killed. There are also concerns that the war in Ukraine or the war in the Gaza Strip could lead to violent actions during the Olympic Games.