Paris metro stabbing suspect is French: ministry
Interior Minister calls for 'maximum vigilance' during festive season in France
The suspect in the stabbing of three women in the Paris metro last week is French, the interior ministry said Monday, after previously saying he was an undocumented Malian ordered to leave the country.
A source with knowledge of the case, requesting anonymity because not allowed to speak to the press, said he had held a French passport since 2018.
The 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of having stabbed and injured three women along the Paris metro's Line 3 on Friday, then admitted to a psychiatric hospital the next day.
"The investigation uncovered a French passport belonging to the suspect," the ministry said, adding that he had not once mentioned his French nationality during previous run-ins with police.
The ministry said on Friday the man was a Malian citizen imprisoned in January last year for aggravated theft and sexual assault, and required to leave France after being released in July.
The man had been placed in an administrative detention centre, but failure to obtain a consular travel document required for his deportation meant he was released after 90 days as required by law, it said.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez last week called for "maximum vigilance" during the festive season in France.
Police used surveillance-camera footage and mobile-tracking tools to locate the 25-year-old, closing in on him after he turned on geolocation services on his phone.
'Maximum vigilance'
Paris police chief Patrice Faure paid tribute to "the reactivity and the mobilisation" of the investigators that led to the arrest of the suspect. Police arrested him at 6:55 pm, less than three hours after the first attack, he said.
Nunez congratulated the different police services involved in tracking down the suspect.
European capitals are especially vigilant during the end-of-year period for any violent incidents, given recent attacks and plots targeting festive or religious gatherings.
Last week, Nunez called for "maximum vigilance" in a message to senior officials.
Due to the "very high level of the terrorist threat" and "the risk of public disorder", Nunez asked local officials to strengthen security measures across the country with a visible and deterrent presence.
Nunez specifically asked for particular attention to be paid to security on public transport.