French security agents have arrested a suspected militant allegedly plotting to attack naval facilities in southern France, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, said.
The local man had been under surveillance for a year for suspicion of radicalisation and support for militant Islamists, Cazeneuve said.
The arrest was made on Oct. 29 by the French security agency DGSI.
The suspect, who had been in contact with a 21-year-old French jihadist believed to be in Syria, had discussed how to purchase a military rifle, and had received a package from China containing a military-style knife, which drew the attention of authorities.
According to security sources, the suspect planned to attack French Navy personnel.
In January, 20 people were killed in a spree by three avowed militants, including the massacre at the office of the magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Similarly, in August, passengers were wounded overpowering a would-be gunman whose weapon jammed as he tried to open fire on a Paris-bound express train in northern France. (dpa/NAN)