Five go on trial for Paris attack plan near Elysee

From AFP via the French edition of The Local

The trial of three French men and two foreigners opened in Paris on Monday for allegedly planning a jihadist attack near France’s presidential palace, the Elysee.

The five, two of whom were minors at the time of the suspected plot, are charged with membership in a terrorist organisation…As well as the three French men, one member was born in Russia and another in Algeria.

France’s domestic intelligence service DGSI dispatched two undercover agents to infiltrate the gang.

In April 2019 one of the undercover agents, using the pseudonym Abu Mohamed, sent a post on the Telegram messaging service saying he had acquired two Kalashnikov assault rifles and left them in a Paris flat near the Gare du Nord.

Two days later two group members accompanied by the second undercover agent turned up to pick up the rifles and were arrested as they left the flat. The trial, most of which will be held behind closed doors to protect minors, is set to end on April 19th.