A French citizen has been detained in Moscow for alleged espionage, the Russian State Investigative Committee announced on Thursday.
The man had tried to obtain information about the military and military technology in Russia, it said, adding that to this end, the Frenchman had visited Moscow several times and met with Russian citizens.
A court will decide whether to remand him in custody, it said in a statement.
The authorities also published a video of the arrest of the man, who was sitting in an ordinary Moscow café at the time.
Details of the case were not disclosed. The relationship between Moscow and Paris has become more tense since French President Emmanuel Macron attempted to organize European resistance to Russia's war in Ukraine. Macron has also not ruled out sending military trainers to Ukraine.
By arresting foreigners, Russia is exerting pressure on other countries and using these individuals as bargaining chips for possible exchange deals.
According to media reports, a businessman who is a German and Russian citizen was detained in St Petersburg at the end of May for alleged treason. The company he worked for in Cologne confirmed the arrest in response to a dpa enquiry.
The German Foreign Office has also been informed and is endeavouring to make contact with the detained man, a report in the Kölner Stadtanzeiger newspaper said on Wednesday.
The man had been living in his native city of St Petersburg for some time. He was known there as a cycling activist who campaigned for the expansion of the cycle path system.