He was planning a “violent action”: a man arrested before the passing of the Olympic flame in Bordeaux

L'homme a été interpellé à la suite d'un signalement sur la plateforme Pharos. MAXPPP – Vincent Isore

A 26-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday May 21 near Bordeaux, two days before the Olympic torch relay, after broadcasting a "worrying message" on social networks, the prosecution announced Thursday, May 23.

"An individual planning violent action during the passing of the Olympic torch relay in Bordeaux was arrested", had previously stated the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, on X.

Un individu planifiant une action violente lors du passage du relais de la flamme olympique à Bordeaux a été interpellé. Merci aux policiers et plus largement à l’ensemble des agents du ministère @Interieur_Gouv qui sécurisent cette fête populaire avec un professionnalisme et un… https://t.co/GPncdNBhUm

— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) May 23, 2024

No antecedent

"In police custody, the person concerned admitted to having considered committing the act, without a specific location, following an attack he had suffered. No reference to the Olympic flame was mentioned", however, underlined the public prosecutor in Bordeaux, Frédérique Porterie, in a press release.< /p>

The individual, Alex G., who lives in Gironde and has no criminal record, must be referred Thursday morning and presented to a magistrate, according to the prosecution which requested the opening of a judicial investigation for "apology of crime and criminal association", as well as his placement in pre-trial detention.

A report and a worrying clip

The Olympic torch relay passes Thursday in Gironde between the wine-growing surroundings of Libourne and the agglomeration of Bordeaux, where the route will end at Place des Quinconces in the city center.

The investigation was opened on May 17 "after a report from the PHAROS platform " which had detected a worrying message that could correspond to an apology for crime and referring to the mass killing that occurred in California on May 23, 2014, detailed the magistrate.

According to a police source, the report mentioned a video clip referring to Elliot Rodger, author of the Isla Vista massacre ten years ago, accompanied by the word: "We miss you Elliot". A "revolver 'gom-cogne' (non-lethal gun intended to fire rubber projectiles, Editor's note), several cell phones and a computer" were seized by the police during a search of the home of the accused, arrested in Eysines, a town in the Bordeaux metropolitan area.

"According to those close to him, he is very psychologically fragile. However, the appointed psychiatric expert did not reveal any particular disorder, continued the prosecutor, adding that the first investigations highlight his interest in the Incel movement (contraction of "Involuntary celibate" for "involuntary celibate").