"I salute the composure and dynamism of the police, who intervened very quickly to arrest a dangerous individual, armed with a cutter, in front of an elementary school in Seine-Saint-Denis. This individual was making threatening remarks," Darmanin wrote on Twitter.

The detention comes as France is in the midst of national dismay over growing Islamic threat in the wake of recent terrorist attacks, the latest one in Paris outskirts, where a teacher was beheaded by a radicalized teen on October 16, and another one in Nice, where an Islamist killed three people in a Catholic cathedral on October 29.

To combat the disturbing violent acts, counter-terrorism measures have been boosted across the country, including strengthening security in certain areas such as schools and places of worship.