A terrorist act foiled, suspects held in custody: France

Officials have sufficient evidence to believe a major attack was being planned in the country

PARIS: France has foiled a terrorist act and is holding four suspects in custody, said the French interior minister and a police source on Monday.

The police source said the four suspects had been arrested on suspicion of acquiring weapons “with a view to committing a terrorist act”.

“We had sufficient evidence to lead us to believe that a major attack was being planned,” Interior Minister Christophe Castaner also told reporters.

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In the wake of the Christchurch attack, New Zealand said on Wednesday that it would work with France in an effort to stop social media from being used to promote terrorism and violent extremism.

Earlier in April, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a statement that she will co-chair a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on May 15 to have world leaders and CEOs of tech companies agree to a pledge, called the Christchurch Call, to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.

A lone gunman killed 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15, while live streaming the massacre on Facebook.

The meeting will be held alongside the Tech for Humanity meeting of G7 digital ministers, of which France is the chair, and France’s separate Tech for Good summit, both on 15 May, the statement said.