Seven Britons arrested in Paris over attempt to run over a policeman outside Israeli embassy

From the Telegraph and 20 Minutes

Seven people claiming to be British were in custody in Paris on Wednesday in connection with an alleged attempt to murder a police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy by running him over. The French language 20 minutes describes him as a ‘gendarme’ and I know that there is a difference in France between the officers called Gendarmes’ and the ones called ‘police’. Whatever his status he wasn’t seriously harmed. 

The suspects — four women and three men, including two minors — told investigators they were born in London and were of Pakistani origin, French media reported. They had no passports and police are trying to establish their identities.

They were travelling in a BMW and a Mercedes with false number plates which were filmed speeding towards the policeman, who managed to jump out of the way at the last moment, narrowly escaping injury.

The cars drove away after the incident on Monday night, but the faces of six of the suspects were clearly visible on footage from surveillance cameras outside the well-guarded embassy.

Police launched a manhunt across Paris and arrested the six people filmed in the cars and a seventh suspect who was not in the cars. The two minors were described as being in their late teens.

The cars had false number plates but bore an emblem which a police source said was that of a movement known as ‘Hit and Run’, movement which encourages motorists to run over police officers. I cannot find anything about this “movement” so far, other than the well known use of vehicles to attack in many countries, as recommended by ISIS and Al-quada and which has become very common against Jews in Israel. 

The suspects are being investigated for “the attempted murder of a person in public authority”, prosecutors said on Wednesday. The crime carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.