The seven, arrested earlier this week in raids in Paris, Toulouse and the Dordogne, are suspected of planning violent activity. No details of the sort of action allegedly planned have been released.
The six men and one woman are said to be aged between 30 and 36 years.
Weapons and material which could be used to produce explosives were discovered at the time of the arrests, according to the Internal Security branch (DGSI) of the French national police.
The French AFP news agency reports that one of those arrested, identified as Florian D and allegedly the leader of a group of activists, is known to have fought alongside Kurdish forces in Rojava, north-eastern Syria.
The right-wing politician Eric Ciotti is sure that all seven are guilty. No sooner had they been arrested than Ciotti issued a Twitter message saying "these radical left wing terrorists were planning to attack the police. They attack the uniform of the Republic because it's the only barrier to their hunger for chaos".
Des terroristes d’extrême gauche voulaient s’en prendre à des policiers !
— Eric Ciotti (@ECiotti) December 11, 2020
Ils s’attaquent à l’uniforme de la République qui est le dernier obstacle à leur dictature et leur soif de chaoshttps://t.co/qpPisxF0gi
Attack on high-speed train service
Before this week's arrests, the last police move against suspected radical left activists was in 2008, in the southern French town of Tarnac.
On that occasion, several members of the radical left were charged in connection with damage caused to the power lines supplying high-speed trains.
Those charged successfully objected to being accused of "terrorism" and were all eventually freed without charge.
Since 2008, a number of fire-bomb attacks against police stations have been associated with the radical left. There have been no arrests.
Sept membres de l’ultragauche présentés à un juge antiterroriste pour un projet d’action violente https://t.co/rZyBrAqVtE
— Eric VAILLANT procureur de Grenoble (@egajvpr) December 11, 2020
Earlier this year, Eric Vaillant, the chief investigating judge in the eastern city of Grenoble called for a police investigation of possible radical left implication in more than 15 fires in the region around the city, targeting police stations, public buildings and churches. No investigation was undertaken.
