Norwegian neo-Nazi musician said to be an 'Anders Breivik sympathiser' arrested in France over fears he was plotting a similar massacre

Kristian Vikernes was arrested with his French wife Marie Chachet



She had recently bought four rifles

40-year-old Vikernes is a convicted murderer from Norway

Previously received a copy of a manifesto from Breivik



A neo-Nazi linked to Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik has been arrested in France today following fears he might stage a large 'terrorist act'.

Kristian Vikernes, a well-known black metal musician in Norway, was arrested with his French wife Marie Chachet after she recently bought four rifles.

The 40-year-old, who is a convicted murderer from Norway, had in the past received a copy of a manifesto from Breivik, the far-right militant who killed 77 people in 2011.

Neo-Nazi: Kristian Varg Vikernes, pictured left in 1999, has been arrested in France on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack. He has previously received a copy of a manifesto from Anders Behring Breivik, right



In a statement, France's Interior Minister Manuel Valls said: 'Having received the manifesto before (Breivik) committed his crimes and having been sentenced in Norway in the past for murder, this individual, who was close to a neo-Nazi movement, was likely to prepare a large terrorist act.'



Officers were searching his home in Correze for weapons and explosives, a police source said.

Breivik killed 77 people in a bombing in central Oslo and a shooting spree on a nearby island in July 2011. He was imprisoned last year for a maximum term of 21 years.

Breivik sent a copy of his manifesto setting out his ideology to Vikernes, an official at the Paris prosecutor's office said.

Held: Vikernes was arrested by intelligence officers at his home in France (pictured)

Breivik's 1,500-page manifesto outlined his planned crusade against Muslims, who he said were taking over Europe and could only be defeated through a violent civil war.

Cachet, 25, had a legal firearms permit when she bought the four rifles, the official said.

'The investigation will notably establish the conditions in which these (rifles) were acquired and their real objective,' Valls said.



On his website, Vikernes discusses Breivik's manifesto, but in a post called 'War in Europe: Part V - Breivik Unveiled' he also criticises the murderer for killing more innocent Norwegians than Muslims.

Vikernes describes himself as a 'pagan' and accuses Breivik of being a Zionist agent and 'Christian loser'.

Rural: This image shows cars parked outside the house of the Norwegian neo-Nazi black metal rocker and convicted killer which was raided this morning

'If you, dear European nationalists, really want to save Europe (as a biological term) you have to realise that the only thing to do is to cast aside all Christian other international nonsense and embrace only the European (i.e. Pagan) values and ideals and if you like the European deities as well,' said the posting, dated December 13.

'If you work for Christianity in any way you work for the Jews. Plain and simple.'

Vikernes, a black metal musician and writer known as Varg, was convicted in 1994 of stabbing a rival musician to death in Oslo and burning down several churches.

Horrific: A swat team aim their weapons while people take cover during Anders Behring Breivik's massacre

He was released from jail in 2009 and moved to France with his wife and three children.

The mayor of Salon La Tour, where Vikernes and his wife lived, said he had been surprised by the arrest.