Two 16-year-old boys have been placed in custody in Paris on suspicion of planning an antisemitic attack against a site of religious worship, judicial and press sources say.
One of the suspects is a 16-year-old Chechen national originally from Russia, who moved to France with his mother four years ago. French media report he sent a photo via WhatsApp showing himself holding a knife and declared he would “kill Jews in five days.”
He was in contact with another 16-year-old residing in the Paris region. According to the press, the two had allegedly threatened to target a worship site.
Authorities moved swiftly. The pair were charged by National Anti‑Terror Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) with “participation in a terrorist criminal association with the aim of preparing one or more crimes against persons.”
This arrest brings to at least 20 — and now 21 — the number of minors charged with terrorism-related offences in 2025. That marks a sharp uptick compared with the 19 minors indicted in 2024.
Officials say the trend is deeply troubling. The national anti-terror prosecutor has warned that the threat has evolved: attacks are increasingly carried out by younger individuals acting autonomously rather than as part of well-known networks.
Indeed, as noted earlier this year in a separate report, nearly 70 percent of terrorism-related arrests in France now involve people under 21. Since 2020, two-thirds of attackers were previously unknown to security services — underscoring how unpredictable and fluid the risk has become.
Security services attribute part of the surge to online radicalisation: encrypted messaging apps and social media platforms provide fertile ground for extremist propaganda, and facilitate planning — often long before a physical act is attempted.
Some analysts also link the rise in youth radicalisation to broader socio-political tensions, notably the war in Gaza, which many extremists invoke to justify antisemitic or anti-Jewish violence.
Senior officials say the arrests should serve as a warning sign. “We are witnessing a worrying drift, with very young individuals becoming perpetrators,” a spokesperson of the prosecutor’s office told reporters. — “The threat remains real.”
As the investigation continues, French authorities say they will intensify surveillance of online extremist channels and step up preventive measures in communities and schools.