French far-right suspects on trial over alleged terror plot against Jews, Muslims

Four far-right suspects accused of planning attacks on mosques and Jewish targets go on trial in Paris, with a judge surprising the court by ordering the hearings be made public.

One of the accused was a teenager when police arrested the suspects in 2018 and 2019, making a closed-door trial for all four men likely under French law.

But presiding judge Christophe Petiteau says given the seriousness of the allegations, “the court considers it important to lift the restricted publicity.”

France has uncovered several violent plots by far-right extremists in recent years, including one in 2018 suspected of preparing an attempt on French President Emmanuel Macron’s life.

“We’re talking about a new and growing threat — mass killings inspired by English-speaking countries that are being imported into our territory,” says prosecution lawyer Olivier Dabin.

Prosecutors say the four men, now aged between 22 and 28, joined a private internet chat group called “Operation WaffenKraft,” where talks “very quickly turned to the preparation of terrorist projects.”

The Waffen-SS was the military branch of the Nazi’s elite SS corps.

The chat group discussed targets, including mosques as well as the headquarters of the Jewish council (CRIF) and the office of the anti-Jewish discrimination league (LICRA).

The group’s alleged leader was Alexandre Gilet, at the time a volunteer deputy police officer in the southeastern department of Isere.