French police arrest Russian suspected of planning to “destabilize” Paris Olympics

French police arrested a Russian on suspicion of potentially destabilizing the 2024 Summer Olympics in ParisFrench prosecutors said on Wednesday. The man was arrested on Tuesday after police searched his home and found evidence that “raised fears that he intended to organize events that could lead to destabilization during the Olympic Games,” prosecutors said in a statement.

The 40-year-old man was held in custody on Wednesday and could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Authorities did not provide further details about the alleged attack but said they did not believe it was a terrorist attack, French news agency AFP reported.

The Russian embassy in Paris told Reuters news agency that it had “proactively asked for clarification. We will endeavour to respond.”

The Olympic Games officially begin in Paris on Friday, with the opening ceremony taking place on the Seine. France has organised its largest peacetime security operation to protect the competition, which is taking place against the backdrop of ongoing Russian Invasion of Ukraine and that War between Israel and Hamas.

More than a million people were investigated by the authorities in the run-up to the games, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told the magazine Paris Match on Tuesday.

4,360 people were denied access to the Olympic Games and people close to Darmanin told AFP that 880 people were denied entry due to suspicion of foreign interference.

In the run-up to the Games, tensions between France and Russia have increased. In June, French police arrested a man of Ukrainian-Russian origin who had caused an explosion in a hotel room north of Paris. He was investigated for possible involvement in a terrorist attack.

In the same month, Russia arrested French researcher Laurent Vinatier, accusing him of collecting intelligence on the Russian military and failing to register as a foreign agent.