Terrorism trial opens in Paris

The trial of four far-right extremists accused of terrorism has opened in Paris.

As one of the defendants was aged 17 at the time of the alleged offences, the men are being tried before the special juvenile assize court in Paris. A fifth person, who was 14 at the time, was tried at a juvenile court in December 2022 and received a two-year suspended sentence.

The four men, aged 22 to 28, are accused of planning attacks on mosques, the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) and the French headquarters of The International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (Licra) in Tours.

The prosecution allege that the five men were part of a private forum called "projet WaffenKraft".

The forum quickly progressed towards planning terrorist projects, led by Alexandre Gilet, who was a volunteer deputy gendarme at the time. Gilet was arrested in September 2018 after ordering explosive device precursors. Weapons, including Kalashnikovs, ammunition, laboratory equipment and products for making explosives, were found at his home.

Four other people were then arrested between October 2018 and May 2019 - a 17-year old from the Tours region; Gauthier Faucon, a 25-year-old; Evandre Aubert, a 23-year-old from Ardèche, and a 14-year-old schoolboy.

The hearing is set to continue until 30 June.

Image by Rodrigo Pignatta from Pixabay