The National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office of France has reported the launch of an investigation after a "weapon of war" was found inside a car in Sarcelles, a municipality on the outskirts of Paris that is home to a large Jewish community.
According to BFMTV, the investigation focuses on "charges of criminal association for the purpose of preparing offenses against persons, and of transport, possession, and acquisition of weapons of category A and B in connection with a terrorist enterprise."
The discovery of the weapon on Saturday night forced the evacuation of about 300 people who were in a nearby synagogue. The car, which was reported stolen, was empty and had its license plates half torn off, according to investigation sources cited by the French channel.
Inside the vehicle, parked about 500 meters from the Jewish place of worship, officers found a Kalashnikov-type rifle, several magazines, and a Beretta pistol with its magazine.
"We still do not know the motives," explained the French Minister of the Interior, Laurent Núñez. "The individuals have not yet been identified," he added. Núñez also stressed that "three attacks have been thwarted" so far this year, including a knife attack committed last February against a police officer under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris during the ceremony to light the flame at the tomb of the unknown soldier.