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AFP
Paris
The two men suspected of plotting an"imminent" attack ahead of France's presidential election were charged Sunday with terror offences, prosecutors said.
The foiled plot in Marseille sparked fears that the closing days of the campaign could be a target for extremists ahead of Sunday's first round of voting in the country's most unpredictable election in decades.
Elite police and intelligence agents arrested the two Frenchmen -- 23-year-old Clement Baur and Mahiedine Merabet, 29 -- on Tuesday in the Mediterranean port city.
Paris prosecutors said the men are accused of participating in a terrorist conspiracy as well as weapons charges. After searching the suspects' shared Marseille apartment, authorities said they uncovered an Uzi sub-machine gun, pistols, three kilogrammes (6.5 pounds) of TATP explosives and a homemade grenade as well as an Islamic State group flag.
