French prosecutors have widened an investigation linked to Paris attacks convict Salah Abdeslam, as fresh anti-terror arrests raise concern ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 2015 massacres.
Less than a week before France commemorates the 10th anniversary of the 2015 Paris and Saint-Denis attacks, anti-terror investigators have opened a new inquiry linked to Salah Abdeslam, the sole surviving member of the commandos behind those atrocities.
Three people, including Abdeslam’s partner, are currently in custody.
Abdeslam, who is serving a life sentence without parole at the high-security prison of Vendin-le-Vieil in northern France, was briefly placed in police custody earlier this week before being released.
The new investigation stems from a probe launched in January 2025 into the alleged possession of an unauthorised object in prison – a USB key – but prosecutors have now widened it to include suspected “terrorist conspiracy with intent to commit crimes against persons.”
According to the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT), Abdeslam is suspected of having received illicit materials in detention. His lawyer, Olivia Ronen, declined to comment, citing the secrecy of the ongoing investigation.
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Abdeslam’s partner among suspects
A 27-year-old woman identified by Le Parisien as Maëva B., who is said to be Abdeslam’s long-term correspondent and now his partner, has been in custody since Tuesday.
Her detention has been exceptionally extended beyond the usual 96-hour limit – a measure permitted only when there is a “serious and imminent risk” of a terrorist act in France or abroad, or for pressing international cooperation needs. Such extensions are extremely rare.
The PNAT confirmed that Maëva B. is being held on suspicion of “receiving illicit materials from a detainee” and “criminal terrorist conspiracy.” Two additional suspects were arrested on Friday as part of the same investigation. Their interrogations are still under way.
The investigation was handed to the anti-terror branch of the French police (SDAT) and the domestic intelligence agency (DGSI).
According to a prison union source, traces of a USB connection were detected on Abdeslam’s prison computer, which he had been allowed to purchase for educational purposes under tightly restricted conditions.
The USB key – which, according to Le Parisien, may have been used to transfer jihadist propaganda – has not been recovered, despite extensive searches.
Because Abdeslam is classed as a “particularly high-risk detainee”, his belongings are supposed to be checked regularly during cell changes. That, said officials, should have made such a breach difficult.
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Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, speaking during a visit to Lyon this week, said systematic searches for the most dangerous inmates were introduced shortly after he took office in December 2024.
“The discovery of this device shows there were undeniable failings,” he admitted. “But it also shows we were right to strengthen searches and to rethink our prison model – including the creation of new high-security wings such as those at Vendin-le-Vieil.”
On Thursday, France will mark the tenth anniversary of the coordinated Paris and Saint-Denis attacks of November 2015, which killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more.
In a separate interview with AFP, national anti-terror prosecutor Olivier Christen said the jihadist threat remains “the most significant, both in its scale and the level of operational readiness,” warning that it has been “growing steadily for the past three years.”
(with newswires)
