A Russian national has been detained and placed under preliminary investigation in Paris over fears he was preparing to disrupt the Olympic Games, the local prosecutor’s office told CNN Tuesday.
French authorities conducted a search of the man’s residence under an administrative order, during which they unearthed evidence he was preparing, “events likely to lead to destabilization during the Olympic Games,” the prosecutor’s office said.
He was placed under preliminary investigation and detained Tuesday under suspicion of: “intelligence with a foreign power with a view to provoking hostilities in France,” the prosecutor’s office added.
If convicted, the crime carries a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment.
The prosecutor’s office released no further details as to what the man was allegedly planning.
The Olympic Games begin this week with the official opening ceremony due to be held in central Paris on Friday evening.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said last week that some 4,000 people had been refused permission to attend events tied to the Olympics, with authorities “paying particular attention to Russian and Belarusian citizens.”
Striking dancers threaten opening ceremony
The news came amid reports that the opening ceremony had been put in jeopardy by a possible strike action by more than 200 dancers who were due to take part.
“Negotiations are underway,” Lucie Sorin, a delegate for the dancers’ FSA-CGT union told CNN Tuesday, but there is still a strike notice in place for Friday, she added.
On Monday, some 220 dancers stopped a rehearsal along the banks of Paris’ River Seine – along which the opening ceremony is due to take place – to protest inequalities in pay and housing conditions between the dancers.
“The ceremony is in danger in a sense, yes. But it will depend on solidarity because the strike is an individual decision,” Sorin said.
She said that the dancers were negotiating with Paris 2024 and their employers to obtain higher salaries and a sum of money for the “most precarious” performers.
This is a developing story and will be updated.