PARIS -- A French couple arrested this week are facing preliminary terrorism charges after investigators say they uncovered information about a potential attack.

Police say a 23-year-old convert to Islam and her 35-year-old husband went before a judge on Thursday after police searched their apartment in Montpellier uncovered a prosthetic belly intended to mimic pregnancy that was covered in foil.

The Paris prosecutor's office says the two are facing terrorism-related charges, with the woman facing a charge of planning an attack. One French official told The Associated Press that the woman said the fake belly was to be used for shoplifting, not terror attacks.The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to the media.

France has been on high alert since the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead and hundreds wounded.