man arrested after threatening shopkeeper with knife

A man was arrested in Cannes on Wednesday October 18 after threatening a trader in his premises with a knife, France Télévisions learned from the Grasse prosecutor, Damien Savarzeix. The individual, unknown to the police, entered the premises of a garage which carries out technical checks and began to unroll his prayer rug.

According to the prosecutor, the manager of the garage, which is located near a synagogue, “asked him what he was doing, that this was not the place to pray. The individual then approached with a knife and shouted ‘Allah Akbar’.” The merchant then retreated into his premises and called the police.

The man left the scene and was arrested a few minutes later. Still according to the prosecution, the police found on him “a prayer rug, an opinel” And “a Moroccan passport”. He was taken into custody for advocating terrorism and weapon violence. On X, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin welcomed the arrest of a “ very dangerous man, carrying a knife”.

In Cannes, the courageous BAC police officers have just arrested a very dangerous man, carrying a knife, who had wanted to attack an individual. Thanks to them: they avoided the worst.

— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) October 18, 2023