RENNES (AFP) – An Algerian online influencer will stand trial in France next month, accused of inciting terrorism on TikTok, prosecutors said.
The 25-year-old suspect was remanded in custody on Friday in the western city of Brest, prosecutor Camille Miansoni said in a statement.
The man, identified by officials only as Youcef A but known on social media as Zazou Youssef, will stand trial there on February 24 on a charge of “publicly advocating an act of terrorism”, she said.
He faces up to seven years in jail and a EUR100,000 (USD103,000) fine if convicted, the statement added.
Yousseff appeared in a video posted on the popular platform TikTok on December 31, calling for attacks in France and violence in Algeria.
The police prefect in France’s western Finistere region, Alain Espinasse, told AFP he had ordered a judicial investigation after officers made him aware of the video.
He said the suspect was living in France on a temporary residency permit and had appealed against an earlier sentence for vandalism during riots in 2023.
France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said in a message on X on Friday that Yousseff “must answer for his actions in court”.
TikTok told AFP the account from which the video was posted had been banned for posting several videos that broke its rules on hate speech.
