France Detains Russian For ‘Destabilization’ Acts At Olympics
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
PARIS (Worthy News) – French authorities say they have detained a Russian man for allegedly plotting acts of “destabilization” during the Paris Olympics, just hours after a separate video emerged promising “rivers of blood” in Paris.
The 40-year-old man was reportedly arrested Sunday for the possible passing of “intelligence to a foreign power in order to arouse hostilities in France.”
The alleged plot is not believed to have been for a terror attack. However, it came while on social media, footage emerged of a man saying “rivers of blood will flow” at the upcoming Olympics in Paris, which Israel is set to compete in.
In the minute-long clip released on Tuesday, a masked Arabic-speaking man addressed “the people of France and the French President [Emmanuel] Macron” and warned them that they would be punished for supporting “the Zionist regime in its criminal war against the people of Palestine.”
“You provided Zionists with weapons; you helped murder our brothers and sisters, our children,” the man, standing before a slate grey background, said to the camera. “You invited the Zionists to the Olympic games. You will pay for what you have done.”
Wearing dark attire and a Palestinian flag over his chest, the man continues: “Rivers of blood will flow through the streets of Paris. This day is approaching, God willing. Allah is the greatest.”
The video, initially posted on an Egyptian news website, concluded with the masked man holding up a severed female head. Observers said the head appeared fake.
HAMAS RESPONSIBLE?
Despite social media messages, it was unclear whether Hamas was responsible. Experts said the video does not provide any indication of the group behind it. They point out that the man seen talking does not bear any emblems—like the traditional green headbands—worn by Hamas fighters. Hamas channels have not yet shared the video.
Yet the Russian arrest and release of the gruesome video added to concerns about possible terrorism in France.
The Olympics were a target for attacks in the past, notably the 1972 Munich Games, where members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches. During the 1996 Atlanta Games, a bomb killed one woman and injured more than 100 people.
For the protection of Israeli athletes, an elite French anti-terrorist unit will be deployed to provide a “ring of steel” around Israel’s first event at the Paris Olympics, Israeli sources said.
Armed Israeli agents have also been sent to Paris amid tension over the Israel-Hamas conflict and calls for pro-Palestine demonstrations.
France reportedly plans to deploy 35,000 police officers each day of the event, with 45,000 due to be present for the Opening Ceremony.
Besides concern about Hamas, the French are also worried about Russia’s intentions amid the worst East-West tensions in decades after Moscow invaded Ukraine.
SEARCHING APARTMENT
Prosecutors said a search had been carried out at the detained Russian man’s Paris apartment at the request of the French interior ministry.
Police discovered evidence that suggested the man was preparing “pro-Russian operations” to destabilize France during the games, French sources said.
The alleged plot was a “large-scale project” that could have had “serious” consequences, according to French investigators.
Authorities said the man was indicted on Tuesday evening local time and placed in pre-trial detention. The crimes being investigated are reportedly punishable by a prison sentence of up to 30 years.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said this week that authorities had screened over one million people – including athletes, coaches, journalists, volunteers, security guards, and residents near event locations – ahead of the games.
French government officials said 880 of the 4,360 people denied access were barred over suspicions of foreign interference.
“We are here to ensure that sport is not used for espionage, cyberattacks, or to criticize and sometimes even lie about France and the French,” Darmanin said.
MORE INCIDENTS
It followed several other incidents stoked by the wars in Gaza as well as Ukraine, where Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In June, five coffins draped in a French flag and bearing the inscription “French soldiers of Ukraine” were left near the Eiffel Tower.
Three men – a Bulgarian, a Ukrainian, and a German – were later apprehended and told police they had been paid to deposit the coffins.
French intelligence officials said they believed Russia was behind the incident.
The month before, red hands were painted on the central Holocaust memorial in Paris, but police said the perpetrators were believed to have fled abroad.
And in the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attack and the beginnings of Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza, around 250 graffiti stencils of the Stars of David – the main symbol depicted on the Israeli flag – appeared on several walls around Paris.
A Moldovan couple were later arrested, and French officials said the pair were thought to have been paid by Russian intelligence.
With the Olympics about to begin, Paris faces its most significant security challenges in years.
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