the man arrested had already tried to set fire to the building in September

A man was arrested at the Iranian consulate, rue Fresnel, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris on Friday April 19. Equipped with a fake explosive vest, this man, born in Iran and aged 61, was arrested smoothly after negotiations with the Intervention and Research Brigade and placed in police custody, franceinfo learned from reliable sources .

According to information from franceinfo, the man was already behind a fire near the same building on September 9. He then burned tires in front of the consulate gate and the fire spread to the facade, blackening it. The man had filmed his gesture to transmit it to Iranian media. According to franceinfo, he was angry with the Iranian state for the death of his brother.

The fire did not cause any casualties. In October 2023 this man, without a criminal record before that, was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended, for “degrading the property of others by means dangerous to people”. A sentence accompanied by a ban on appearing in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, carrying or possessing a weapon for five years and the obligation to compensate the victims. He was due to be tried on appeal in this case next Monday.

The suspect carrying a grenade or an explosive vest

The alert was launched at 11 a.m. Friday morning, after the report of a witness who said he had seen a man entering the building carrying a grenade or an explosive vest, the Paris police headquarters told franceinfo .

A large security perimeter was set up and the prefect mobilized the Research and Intervention Brigade. Metro line 6 is closed between Etoile and La Motte-Piquet Grenelle, and line 9 between Franklin Roosevelt and Pont de Sèvres stations, at the request of the prefecture.