A French police officer who adheres to a violent, radical far-right ideology has been arrested on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack, according to sources who spoke to AFP late Thursday.
Confirming a report by TF1/LCI, a judicial source said the suspect was also believed to have manufactured weapons, among other offences.
A separate source close to the investigation told AFP that the 35-year-old officer was apprehended in public on August 23.
He has since been placed in pretrial detention.
According to TF1/LCI, the officer is suspected of having planned to carry out violent attacks against state institutions and of having produced 3D-printed weapons, among other things.
The suspect faces charges including preparation of a terrorist act, unauthorised manufacture or trafficking of weapons in connection with a terrorist organisation, and illegal weapons possession.
He has also been charged with inciting terrorism through social media.
The officer’s lawyers had not responded to AFP’s requests for comment as of Thursday evening.
The arrest follows revelations that France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party recently expelled another officer after body camera footage surfaced showing him making racist comments, drawing widespread public outrage.
Marine Le Pen, leader of the RN, hopes to win the presidency in next year’s elections after years of working to make the anti-immigration party she inherited from her father more acceptable to mainstream voters.