Four charged with vague terror plot in France

French legal officials have charged four men with planning to join jihadi groups abroad and discussing violent action in France.

The suspects were arrested along with another man in the central city of Saint Etienne on Tuesday and have been detained since then, a legal source told the AFP news agency.

On Saturday they were charged with terror plotting due to what the source described as "vague plans to leave for a jihad zone and evoking an imprecise plan to take violent action".

The fifth man was not charged.