Police have arrested a 21-year-old far-left extremist at the first anniversary of the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest) movement on Saturday. The extremist has been accused of spying on police officers.
Police sources claim the young woman had gathered with other protesters at the Place d’Italie in Paris where violence erupted Saturday, La Point reports. She is said to be behind a Facebook account called “Marie ACAB-Land”, a reference to the far-left Antifa slogan “All Cops Are Bastards” (ACAB).
The arrest is not the first this year for the extremist activist, who was previously detained in Toulouse on November the 2nd and is well-known for filming and documenting individual police offers at protests.
Police sources have also claimed that the 21-year-old is known to loiter around near police stations and take pictures or videos of officers. She is also accused of photographing and documenting the license plates of the officers’ personal vehicles.
According to a police headquarters source speaking to the newspaper, she has already followed at least one policeman from a police station in the 17th arrondissement to his home to take note of his address.
While she claims to live in the western part of Paris, the woman has been spotted at police stations in various cities including Yvelines, Essonne, and Versailles.
France’s Territorial Intelligence (SCRT) and the DRPP (intelligence of police headquarters), say the 21-year-old offered others personal information on specific officers using alternative social media profiles.
She is also said to be on the “S-File” terror watchlist that also contains around 25,000 Islamic radical extremists.
Far-left Antifa extremists have often targetted police in France, with five extremists arrested and accused of plotting to attack a hotel used for housing police during the G7 summit in Biarritz in August.
Attacks on police are frequent during the annual May Day protest in Paris, with around 200 black bloc members arrested earlier this year.
In neighbouring Germany, far-left extremists also target police, leaving 19 officers injured this month following a protest in Berlin.
Antifa has also begun to target construction projects in cities like Leipzig. The far leftists are not only accused of causing ten million euros in damages due to an arson attack in the city, but also are accused of invading the home of a real estate employee and beating her.