The investigation into the 18-year-old man is reportedly the national anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office first case linked to the so-called "incel" movement.
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French authorities have arrested an 18-year-old man who claimed ties to the misogynistic so-called "incel" movement and placed him under investigation over an alleged plot to carry out attacks targeting women, according to media reports.
The probe by France's national anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office (PNAT) is reportedly the department's first case involving a suspect who identifies as an incel, or "involuntary celibate".
This refers to a fringe online subculture dominated by men who blame women for their lack of sexual activity and who sometimes call for violence against them.
The office said on Tuesday that it had opened a judicial investigation "against a young man, aged 18, claiming to be a member of the incel movement," adding that he was being probed for allegedly "associating with terrorist criminals to prepare one or more crimes against people," French media said.
The suspect was reportedly arrested on Friday near a school in the central Saint-Étienne region and was found to be carrying two knives.
Sources close to the investigation told French media that he had been watching misogynistic content on social media and that he been planning to attack women.
In May last year, French police arrested a 26-year-old man on suspicion of planning a mass killing in Bordeaux.
The Bordeaux prosecutor said police investigators found evidence that the suspect was interested in the incel movement.
Following the recent popularity of Netflix's hit show Adolescence, which featured a young schoolboy in the UK who was drawn into a violent form of incel ideology, France's education minister last month said it would be shown in French secondary schools.