Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 2, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
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An 18-year-old French man linked to the incel movement was arrested for allegedly plotting attacks on women, marking a first for France's PNAT.
PARIS (Reuters) -An 18-year-old French man who claimed affiliation with the misogynist "incel" (involuntary celibate) movement has been arrested and placed under formal investigation on suspicion of planning attacks targeting women, France's National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) said on Wednesday.
This is the first time PNAT has taken on a case linked to the "incel" movement, an online network of men motivated to engage in violence against women who they believe unjustly reject their sexual or romantic advances.
On Tuesday, the PNAT had confirmed it had opened a judicial investigation "against a young man aged 18, claiming to be a member of the incel movement", adding he was being investigated for "associating with terrorist criminals to prepare one or more crimes against people".
A source close to the investigation confirmed French media reports that the suspect was arrested near a school in the Saint-Etienne region in central France and that the man, who was carrying two knives, was suspected of planning to attack women.
Ideologies based on distrust and hatred towards women have been gaining space in the mainstream worldwide over the past decade through online channels, especially social media platforms.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Alexandra Hudson)
The man was arrested on suspicion of plotting an attack against women, claiming affiliation with the incel movement.
The incel movement is an online network of men who engage in violence against women they believe unjustly reject them.
The suspect was arrested near a school in the Saint-Etienne region of central France.
Ideologies based on distrust and hatred towards women have gained traction worldwide over the past decade, particularly through social media.
The investigation is being handled by the PNAT, which has confirmed the opening of a judicial investigation against the young man.
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