The French anti-terror unit arrested three people on Saturday on suspicion of planning an imminent terrorist attack in connection with the last surviving perpetrator of the 2015 Paris (Bataclan) attacks.
Notably, prosecutors extended the detention of the three suspects beyond the initial 96 hours by an additional 24 hours, a measure that can be taken under French law only in cases of “serious risk of the imminence of a terrorist action in France or abroad.” A judge’s authorization must be obtained to extend custody in such a manner.
The three were arrested by the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) as part of an investigation into a suspected terror threat linked to Salah Abdeslam, who is in prison for life due to his role in the Bataclan attacks. The information below was confirmed to The Jerusalem Post by PNAT on Monday.
In January 2025, four USB keys with connections were discovered in Abdeslam’s possession at Vendin-le-Vieil prison in northern France, prompting an investigation.
Analysis of Abdeslam’s computer revealed numerous entries corresponding to “file paths” for audio, image, or video files. Most of them are related to the official propaganda of terrorist organizations, specifically ISIS and al-Qaeda. The actual USB stick for Abdeslam’s computer was searched for but not found, according to the news agency AFP.
Following this, an investigation was launched into how Abdeslam illegally obtained the digital media. This led to the identification of Abdeslam’s former partner, Maëva B, who at the time of the events held a visiting permit.
PNAT said Abdeslam was brought in for questioning on November 4 and November 7, and that it had “expanded” the investigation to include the offence of terrorist conspiracy.
Maëva B was detained on November 4, and since admitted to having acquired a USB key, loading it with jihadist propaganda, and arranging for it to be given to Abdeslam during a prison visit. Searches of her home, and the devices in it, revealed a “fascination with jihad” and “clear radicalization” as well as a “separate plan for violent action.”
Proceedings against Maëva B were extended to include the offense of participation in a terrorist conspiracy with the intent of perpetrating crimes against persons.
Following this, on November 7, two people in her close circle were taken into custody, including a 17-year-old minor and a 20-year-old man, her new husband by religious marriage.
On November 10, 2025, PNAT opened two separate judicial investigations: The first, for possession by a detainee of an illicitly supplied object and complicity, and criminal conspiracy under common law (concerning Maëva B and Abdeslam); and the second, for terrorist conspiracy with intent to prepare crimes against persons, concerning Maëva B and the two others taken into custody.
PNAT has requested that all three be formally charged and placed in pretrial detention.
Separate Bataclan-inspired plot
In a separate thwarted attack plot, PNAT also announced on Saturday that it had arrested and opened an investigation into three women, each around 20 years old, on suspicion of planning a jihadist plot for the eve of the tenth anniversary of the Bataclan attacks (November 13).
The judicial inquiry, opened on October 10, concerns “criminal terrorist association with intent to commit acts of violence against persons,” the office confirmed on Saturday.
According to French media, the women discussed violent actions online, reportedly mentioning firearms and a suicide belt, and talked about possible targets such as a concert hall or a bar in Paris.
Le Parisien obtained surveillance reports from France’s General Directorate of Internal Security, which referred to the women as “Salafists... lonely and suicidal.”
One woman, referenced only as K, is wheelchair-bound, a paraplegic, and schizophrenic. K left her home and lived on the streets after turning 18, and converted to Islam in 2015.
All three apparently spent most of their time at home watching jihadist propaganda on social media.
The ring leader, named as B, said she wanted to “pay tribute to [Osama] Bin Laden” and “blow everything up” in a conversation with the third female, A.
A search of B’s home revealed a notebook containing her attack plans, including ingredients for developing explosives, the cost of a Kalashnikov rifle, and lists of potential targets.
According to Le Parisien, during the hearings, B said she wanted to live under Sharia Law, and had considered attacking a police officer so she would be shot and “attain martyrdom status.”