2nd LD-Writethru: French police seize weapons near military base, arrest former soldier

French police on Friday found hidden weapons near the military base in western France, where a former soldier was arrested, local media reported.

The 34-year-old former soldier was arrested on early Friday morning, according to the newspaper L'Express.

The suspect was already known to French intelligence services before the arrest as "fiche S," which refers to people considered a specific threat to security and those who have been radicalized.

According to a source close to the investigation, quoted by L'Express, "a shotgun, two powder revolvers and ammunition" were discovered near the air base 105 of Evreux, Normandy.

The anti-terrorism unit of the Paris prosecutor's office has opened an investigation for "individual terrorist incident," and the suspect is being held for "fraudulent entry into a military zone" and "violation of legislation on weapons," several media reports said.

According to RTL radio, the suspect's car caught the attention of the police, who later found a rifle cartridge inside the vehicle.

The suspect was possibly planning on further actions targeting the military base, the radio quoted a source as saying.

The arrest came two days before the second round of the French presidential election, in the backdrop of high security risks.

On the evening of April 20, three days before the first around of the election, a policeman was killed in the Champs-Elysees avenue in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.

The French interior ministry has pledged to mobilize over 50,000 police and gendarmes to safeguard the election. Endit