A suspected terror plot in Paris has been foiled after a man was arrested for allegedly trying to detonate an improvised bomb outside a Bank of America branch.
Police were called in the early hours after the suspect was seen attempting to set off a device on Rue de la Boétie, a major road in the French capital.
Officers moved in and detained the man before the device could explode, seizing what has been described as a five-litre transparent container filled with an unidentified liquid and around 650 grams of explosive powder.
French media reports the suspect may not have been acting alone, with another individual believed to have fled the scene.
During questioning, the man claimed he had been dropped off outside the bank in a car and said he had been recruited via Snapchat, allegedly offered €600 to carry out the attack.
Police sources said he was found trying to ignite a jerry can when officers arrived.
France’s interior minister Laurent Nuñez praised officers for their swift response, saying: “Well done to the rapid intervention of a police prefecture crew which made it possible to thwart a violent terrorist action last night in Paris.”
She added that the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office is now leading the investigation.
The attempted attack comes amid heightened concern over a series of incidents across Europe.
Earlier this month, an explosion took place outside a synagogue in the Belgian city of Liege, while days later a synagogue in Rotterdam was targeted in an arson attack.
Last week in London, four ambulances belonging to the Jewish community were set alight near a synagogue in Golders Green. The Metropolitan Police have since arrested two men in connection with that incident.
