AN alleged ‘woman hater’ has been arrested over fears he was plotting a violent attack during the Olympic torch relay in France.
Alexandre G., 26, he was on Thursday being held in the south west city of Bordeaux.
AFPFrench trailer Paul Mathou (centre) runs with the flame during the Olympic torch relays today[/caption]
Cops said they had thwarted the attack on the torch relay that this morning and is scheduled to end around 7.30pm local time.
Prosecutors said he was linked with the online Incel movement – one mainly made up of young men who struggle to attract sexual partners.
Alexandre G. referenced notorious Incel gunmen Elliot Rodger, who murdered six people during a rampage in the Californian university town of Isla Vista on May 23 2014 – exactly 10 years ago – before committing suicide.
In the latest case, prosecutor Frédérique Porterie said Alexandre G. wrote online messages that ‘could correspond to glorifying crime’.
He said a judicial investigation had been launched into the behaviour of Alexandre G., who was being held in a secure police station in Bordeaux.
Alexandre G. has no criminal record, said the prosecutor, but a revolver that fires rubber pellets was seized during a search of his home, along with multiple mobile phones and a computer.
The suspect had admitted to “having considered an act with no specific location” in mind, leading to fears that he was focused on the Olympic Flame relay.
It is in Bordeaux on Thursday, as part of a relay around French territory before the opening of the Paris games in July.
Numerous women, including many athletes, are involved in the procession across France, and the country’s Overseas Territories.
An unprecedented security operation has been launched to protect everybody associated with the Olympics, with thousands of police and gendarmes already mobilsised.
Earlier this year, knifeman Joel Cauchi is said to have murdered six people at a shopping centre at Bondi Junction, Sydney, Australia, because of his hatred for woman.
Cauchi, 40, stabbed five women and one man to death at the Westfield shopping centre on April 13, before being shot dead by police officer.
Commissioner Karen Webb said New South Wales Police said at the time: “It’s obvious to me and it’s obvious to detectives that it seems to be an area of interest that the offender had focused on women and avoided the men.
“It has been reported that five of the deceased are women and the majority of victims in hospital are also women.”
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