According to a source familiar with the matter, the man is suspected of being involved in the kidnapping of little Mia in mid-April.
He would be close to Rémy Daillet, figure of a conspiracy movement and implicated in the organization of the kidnapping.
The latter was arrested in Malaysia at the end of May.
A retired former soldier suspected of being involved in the kidnapping of little Mia, in mid-April in the Vosges, was arrested Tuesday in the Hautes-Pyrénées, we learned Thursday from a source close to the file, confirming information from BFMTV.
This man, a retired lieutenant-colonel, was arrested during an operation by gendarmes from the Nancy research section and police from the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), added the same source, specifying that he was close to Rémy Daillet, figure of a conspiracy movement suspected of having organized the kidnapping of the girl.
Seven people indicted in this case
Mia, 8, was kidnapped in mid-April at her mother's request by several men while she was staying with her maternal grandmother in a village in the Vosges.
Her mother was no longer allowed to see her alone, nor to speak to her on the phone.
A "kidnapping alert" was quickly disseminated and significant police resources had made it possible to find her five days later with her mother in Switzerland.
The investigation implicated in the organization of this kidnapping Rémy Daillet, arrested at the end of May in Malaysia, where he had resided for several years.
As part of this case, six men and the mother of the girl, close to the anti-system and conspiracy movement, were indicted and placed in pre-trial detention.