PARIS — A social media influencer from Algeria was taken into custody by French authorities on Friday for allegedly urging his followers to perpetrate attacks within France, according to Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau. This arrest in the coastal city of Brest comes just days before the country is set to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the tragic January 2015 attacks in Paris, targeting the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket.

On January 7, 2015, two extremists affiliated with al-Qaida launched an assault on Charlie Hebdo’s newsroom, resulting in the deaths of 12 individuals, including the chief editor, several cartoonists, and a police officer who was killed nearby. The violence continued for two more days, culminating in an assault linked to the Islamic State group, where a policewoman was killed, followed by a hostage situation at a supermarket in eastern Paris, which resulted in four deaths. All three assailants involved in the incidents were killed in subsequent confrontations with law enforcement.

Retailleau shared on social media that the detained influencer, who operated under the pseudonym “Zazouyoussef,” had incited his audience to engage in violence in France. “He will have to answer for his actions before the courts,” the minister emphasized in his post.

Authorities stated that the 25-year-old influencer, originally from Algeria, was arrested on charges of promoting terrorism. He had been ordered last year to leave France due to his residency permit expiring. Alongside him, another individual holding Algerian residency also faced detention for similar accusations of expressing sympathy for terrorist acts.

Reports from French media indicated that Zazouyoussef had garnered over 400,000 followers on TikTok before his account was taken down. His content reportedly included threats of violence directed at those opposed to the Algerian government.