Man charged over plot to assassinate Emmanuel Macron
Prosecutors claim man planned to shoot French President on Bastille Day

A 23-year-old man has been charged with plotting to kill Emmanuel Macron during next week's Bastille Day parade.
Prosecutors in Paris told CNN he was aligned to the "extreme right" and wanted to murder the French President, as well as "blacks, Arabs, Jews and homosexuals".
In what the London Evening Standard described as a "Day of the Jackal-style plot", the man planned to shoot Macron with a Kalashnikov assault rifle while the politician took the salute at the Bastille Day celebrations on 14 July.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
US President Donald Trump will be among the guests of honour at the ceremony.
The man has been charged with plotting to commit a terrorist act after coming to the attention of the security services monitoring a video games forum, where he mentioned his search for a weapon.
Police said it was too early to say if he was linked to a wider network.
Bastille Day is the most important date in France's ceremonial calendar. It commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789, sparking the start of the French Revolution, and was also the setting for Frederick Forsyth's 1967 novel The Day of the Jackal, which portrays the attempted assassination of Charles de Gaulle.
In 2002, Maxime Brunerie, a neo-Nazi, fired at President Jacques Chirac during the Bastille Day parade, reports RMC radio. He was sentenced to ten years in prison before being released in 2009.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
A tall ship adventure in the Mediterranean
The Week Recommends Sailing aboard this schooner and exploring Portugal, Spain and Monaco is a 'magical' experience
-
How drone warfare works
The Explainer From Ukraine to Iran, it has become clear that unmanned aircraft are rapidly revolutionising modern warfare
-
The tourist flood in the Mediterranean: can it be stemmed?
Talking Point Finger-pointing at Airbnb or hotel owners obscures the root cause of overtourism in holiday hotspots: unmanageable demand
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?
today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
The France-Indonesia push for an Israeli-Palestinian two-state solution
Talking Points Both countries have said a two-state solution is the way to end the Middle East conflict
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
What does the Le Pen verdict mean for the future of French politics?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Convicted of embezzlement and slapped with a five year ban on running for public office, where does arch-conservative Marine Le Pen go from here — and will the movement she leads follow?
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month