Frenchman charged over Macron assassination 'plot'

A 23-year-old French male was arrested and charged with terror offences on Saturday for an alleged plot to assassinate the President Emmanuel Macron, local media reported on Monday.

The suspect, described as a "far-right nationalist", reportedly said he wanted to make a political gesture by killing Macron during a July 14 Bastille Day parade on the Champs-Elysees.

Reports by broadcaster RMC suggested he also expressed a desire to kill "blacks, Arabs, Jews and homosexuals".

He was arrested last Wednesday in the suburb of Argenteuil near Paris and charged on Saturday.

When contacted by Anadolu Agency, French police refused to comment ahead of a statement from a prosecutor.

RMC went on to say French intelligence services flagged up the man after he tried to get hold of a Kalashnikov assault rifle and expressed his will to commit an attack in a chat room linked to an online game.

The broadcaster reported the suspect is "unemployed man, psychologically unstable but conscious and determined".

Quoting police sources, L'Express newspaper said he "appeared to have been inspired by previous mass shootings, including the Colombine massacre".

On July 14, 2002, Maxime Brunerie, a neo-Nazi sympathizer, attempted to assassinate President Jacques Chirac during a Bastille Day military parade.

Brunerie was sentenced to 10 years in prison before being released in 2009.