PARIS, July 3 (Xinhua) -- French police arrested a young man suspected of planning to assassinate President Emmanuel Macron during a Bastille Day parade on July 14, local media reported on Monday.
The 23-year-old man was captured in Argenteuil, near Paris on June 28 after he mentioned his intention to buy a Kalashnikov assault rifle on a video games forum that was being monitored by intelligence services, RMC radio reported.
During police raid at his flat, the alleged would-be attacker threatened police with a kitchen knife, and searches of his car uncovered further arms, RMC radio added, citing source close to the investigation.
Described as a far-right "nationalist," he told police he wanted to murder President Macron as well as "blacks, Arabs, Jews and homosexuals."
The man, who is unemployed, was described as "psychologically disturbed, but determined."
His profile is not unlike that of Maxime Brunerie, a far-right supporter who fired at former President Jacques Chirac during the Bastille Day parade in 2002.
France has already imposed emergency security rules in a context of continued of high risks of attacks.
