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France



French police arrest five Russians suspected of planning an attack









Suspects, reportedly of Chechen origin, held for questioning in Béziers after explosives allegedly found














New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo lay a wreath outside Charlie Hebdo's offices. Five people were arrested in Beziers on Tuesday on suspicion of planning an attack, almost two weeks after the Paris killings. Photograph: Francois Mori/AP




Kim Willsher in Paris


Tuesday 20 January 2015 10.29 EST







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French police arrested five Russians in the southern town of Béziers on Tuesday after explosives were allegedly found near a sports stadium.
The five, reported to be of Chechen origin, were being held in custody for questioning, on suspicion of planning an attack.
Prosecutor Yvon Calvet said certain “products” had been recovered during searches of the suspects’ homes.
The arrests came as France remained on its highest level of security alert following attacks by Islamic fundamentalists almost a fortnight ago.
Four people suspected of being linked to the three separate attacks in France two weeks ago were due before a judge on Tuesday. They have been questioned about giving “logistical support” to the gunman who attacked a Jewish supermarket. The court will decide whether they should be officially “mise en examen” (put under investigation), the equivalent of being charged.
The New York mayor, Bill de Blasio, meanwhile paid a flying visit to Paris on Tuesday to show his “solidarity” with the city.
De Blasio laid flowers outside the offices of Charlie Hebdo where brothers Saïd and Chérif Kouachi killed 12 people in an attack 13 days ago and at the Jewish supermarket in the east of the city where their accomplice Amédy Coulibaly gunned down and killed four people.
Afterwards, he gave a joint conference with the Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo and described the terrorist attacks in Paris as the French capital’s 9/11.
“Paris and New York have walked the same path in so many ways. We have both born the brunt of terror and we have for many years shown the example, in our own way, of tolerance, integration and a multi-cultural society,” de Blasio said.
“This attack, like 9/11, is a turning point for Paris, as 9/11 was for us. These attacks have had the same impact. It challenges us to find a way forward.
“The people of New York stand with you,” he added.
The Paris mayor Hidalgo said French politicians and the public had to work harder towards a more “fraternal” society.
“We have to ask how did we get here, what did we do wrong, we have to bring answers to these questions.
“The “fraternity” that is in the French motto is too often forgotten. we have to work harder if we want to change things and we must change things. The political class has to find answers, but citizens also have to do more so that we live together better.”
Hidalgo warned again against “stigmatising” the Muslim community after the attacks.
“I say it again, these terrorists who killed, these men were outside the law and without faith,” Hidalgo said.
One of the heroes of the terrorist attacks in Paris is to be honoured on Tuesday evening by being awarded French nationality.
Lassana Bathily, 24, a Muslim from Mali, hid shoppers at the Hyper Casher supermarket in the cold room after gunman Amédy Coulibaly stormed the store.
Bathily, who was working at the shop at the time, was at first arrested and handcuffed by police before his part in the rescue of several people was known. He then helped French special forces who had surrounded the building by describing the layout of the shop and the gunman’s whereabouts.
Coulibaly died when French forces stormed the shop.
“I didn’t hide Jews, I hid human beings,” Bathily said aftrwards. French president François Hollande telephoned Bathily after the siege to praise his bravery and promise he would be given French nationality.



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