French anti-terrorism investigators said that an 18-year-old woman arrested over the Easter weekend was suspected of planning an attack on a church.

New details have emerged about the teen, who was living in Beziers, in southern France, and is suspected of plotting an attack targeting nearby Montpellier over Easter.

On Thursday, anti-terrorism officials said that during a search of her home they found a photo of the schoolteacher beheaded by a radical Islamist in October.

Samuel Paty was murdered after showing caricatures of the prophet of Islam to his class.

Officials also said that bomb-making materials were found in the apartment, as well as photos of "armed jihadists", a diagram of a nearby church and handwritten notes referring to the Nazis and the Islamic State group.

The teenager, who has not been identified, was not previously known to authorities.

Authorities stressed that no constructed explosives were found.