French authorities detain Russian man on accusations of planning to 'destabilize' Olympics

PARIS (AP) — French authorities say they have detained a Russian man on suspicion of planning to “destabilize the Olympic Games.”

A 40-year-old Russia-born man was arrested on Tuesday at his Paris apartment, a statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office said Wednesday.

He was charged with “conducting intelligence work on behest of a foreign power” with an aim to “provoke hostilities in France,” crimes punishable with 30-year sentence in France, the statement said.

During an official search of the suspect’s home in Paris, police agents found items that “raised fears of his intention to organize events likely to lead to destabilization of the Olympic Games,” prosecutors said.

It comes after the interior minister said earlier Wednesday that security authorities made an arrest and foiled a separate plot to attack the Olympics.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

PARIS (AP) — French security authorities have thwarted a plot against the Paris Olympics, the country's interior minister said Wednesday, two days before the official start of the Summer Games.

France has been on high alert over the past few weeks as preparations to host the 2024 Olympics hit the final stretch. The Games officially kick off with a lavish and high-security opening ceremony on the River Seine on Friday.

The Games' organizers face security challenges, including cyberattack concerns, amid high international tensions because of the Russia's war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.

There are also elaborate disinformation campaigns orchestrated out of Russia, targeting the Olympics and France's recent elections, according to French officials and cybersecurity experts in Europe and the United States.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said in an interview Wednesday with French broadcaster BFMTV that a young man was arrested in Gironde, a region in the southwest of France, on suspicion of “planning a violent action against the Olympic Games.”

Police arrested an 18-year-old man Tuesday on accusations that he was planning to target the “organization of the Games,” Darmanin said.

He did not give details on the suspect's potential targets or whether they were in Paris or in other French cities hosting Olympic events that run through Aug. 11.

“We are still working on this case ... (we) avoid giving details ... but we think there is a link," Darmanin said. “It's been established that this person wanted to attack the Olympic Games."

Paris has deployed 35,000 police officers each day for the Olympics, with a peak of 45,000 for the opening ceremony. In addition, 10,000 soldiers are taking part in security operations in the Paris region.

A 10,000-strong military force is patrolling streets and sites in the Paris region and carrying out other security missions.

France also is getting help from more than 40 countries that together have sent at least 1,900 police reinforcements.

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The Associated Press