Hollande: French Police Prevented 'Large-Scale' Attack Planned for December 1

French intelligence services and police managed to foil terrorist attack planned for December 1, according to French President Francois Hollande.

PARIS (Sputnik) — The foiled terrorist attack planned for December 1 could be a large scale act of violence if the French police did not intervene, French President Francois Hollande said on Friday.

"I want to congratulate the intelligence services, police and judges who helped to reveal this crime chain, who prevented this large-scale attack," Hollande was quoted as saying by BFMTV.

On October 20, French law enforcement agencies detained five people in Strasbourg and Marseilles on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks. The detained individuals aged from 29 to 37 years old were French, Moroccan and Afghan nationals.

The investigators found out that the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ) in the center of Paris, and General Directorate for Internal Security (French intelligence agency) located in the Levallois-Perret commune in northwestern suburbs of Paris were among possible terrorists' targets.

France remains on high alert since the November 13, 2015 attacks that killed 130 and wounded more than 350 across Paris. The Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) jihadist group, which is outlawed in Russia and many other states, claimed responsibility for the attack.