An Egyptian man with links to ISIS has been arrested over a suspected terrorist attack on the Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris, as became known in the media on March 30. The man was arrested on March 5 by officers from the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI). Thanks to the work of the domestic intelligence services, the terrorist was identified, arrested for "criminal terrorist association" and placed in pre-trial detention.
The French Minister of Interior Affairs, Gérald Darmanin, confirmed the arrest in a speech on April 1, in which he also said that a total of five individuals, all linked to the Islamic State, have been arrested in recent weeks in terrorism cases. "We thwart attacks every two months," Minister Gérald Darmanin said. He also confirmed that the suspect of the attack on Notre Dame Cathedral "was going to attack a religious building, or at least the area around it, and possibly hit Christians".