France smashes neo-Nazi cell over plot to attack Jews, Muslims

French police have smashed a neo-Nazi cell accused of plotting attacks on Jewish or Muslim places of worship, legal sources said Tuesday.

French police have smashed a neo-Nazi cell accused of plotting attacks on Jewish or Muslim places of worship, legal sources said Tuesday.

Five members of the group, who were “close in ideology to the neo-Nazi movement” were charged between September and May over the alleged plot, a source close to the investigation said.

“The investigation suggested they were developing an ill-defined plot to carry out an attack, likely to target a place of worship,” the judicial source said.

The sources gave no details of specific targets or motives.

Police in the southeastern city of Grenoble first arrested a man on weapons charges in September 2018. The investigation led them to the four other suspects, two of them minors.

Anti-terrorism investigators took over the investigation in January and charged the suspects with terror offences, including making and transporting explosive devices and being part of a terrorist conspiracy.

While France has repeatedly been targeted by jihadists since 2015, a handful of alleged plots involving far-right extremists have made headlines in recent months.