On 4 September 2016, a car containing seven canisters of gas and pages with

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

writing was found parked near

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Attempt

The car that was meant to be detonated was a grey

Peugeot 607 The Peugeot 607 is an executive car produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot from September 1999 to June 2010. The 607, along with the smaller 407, were superseded by the 508 in March 2011. History The 607 was launched in October 1999, to ...

with its

license plates A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificat ...

removed. It was packed with several gas canisters full of

diesel fuel Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and t ...

, some of which was used to douse the inside of the car. A lit cigarette was used in an attempt to initiate the explosion, however the fuel did not ignite and the perpetrators left the scene.

Arrests

"Information we were able to get from our

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

services allowed us to act before it was too late," said

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...

. Inès Madani, accused of leading the bomb attempt, posed as a man under the name "Abu Omar" on social media to recruit

jihadi Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...

s to join her in attacking Notre Dame, and successfully recruited Ornella Gilligmann, a mother of three. According to Gilligmann, she then stopped hearing from "Abu Omar", but was contacted by Madani. Police also arrested Amel Sakaou, 39, and Sarah Hervouët, 23. All three women were armed with knives. During the arrest, Hervouët, who was "completely veiled", stabbed a policeman. Hervouët converted to Islam a few months before traveling towards Syria in 2015, and was betrothed to Adel Kermiche, one of the terrorists of the Normandy church attack. One of the arrested women was alleged to have had a letter professing allegiance to the Islamic State. Two men said to be connected with ISIL propagandist Rachid Kassim were also arrested in connection with the plot.

Trial

The trial of five accused women commenced in Paris, in September 2019. The accused women were Inès Madani, Ornella Gilligmann, Sarah Hervouët, Amel Sakaou and Samia Chalel, between the ages 22 and 42 all converts to Islam. On 15 October 2019, Madani was given a 30-year prison sentence, Gilligmann a 25-year prison sentence, Hervouët and Sakaou were given 20 years each, while Chalel received five years for helping Madani hide after the failed attack. The Frenchman Rachid Kassim, thought to have been killed in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

in 2017, was sentenced to

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

''in absentia''.

References

{{Notre-Dame de Paris 2016 in Christianity 2016 in Paris 2010s crimes in Paris 2010s trials Failed terrorist attempts in France Islamic terrorism in Paris Islamic terrorist incidents in 2016 Bombing attempt September 2016 crimes in Europe September 2016 events in France Terrorist incidents in France in 2016 Trials in France

Attempt

Arrests

Trial

See also

References