French police arrest “incel” for planning an attack on women

An 18-year-old has been charged in France’s first case of a terrorist attack, linked to the misogynistic “incel” movement. The suspect was arrested on Friday by the domestic intelligence agency DGSI near a public high school in the southeastern city of Saint-Etienne. He was found with two knives in his bag and identified himself as a member of the “incel” subculture, or involuntary celibates.
The “incel” movement is an internet subculture rife with misogyny, in which men tend to blame women and feminism for their romantic failures. They typically target those they consider attractive or sexually active.
The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) has charged the young man with criminal conspiracy to commit one or more crimes against the person. The involvement of anti-terrorism prosecutors is intended to signal that French authorities recognize this form of gender-based violence as terrorism. On Tuesday evening, the suspect appeared before a judge who remanded him in custody. His lawyer, Maria Snitsar, described him as “a teenager in pain, not a fighter preparing for action.”
The arrested man, who wanted to become an engineer, was a fan of misogynistic videos on social media, particularly on TikTok.
It is the first time that the PNAT has been called upon to investigate a man who identifies exclusively as part of the “incel” subculture.