Sentences ranging from two years in prison suspended to six years in prison have been requested against seven ultra-left sympathisers who have been on trial since 3 October before the Paris Criminal Court for terrorist criminal association.
The heaviest sentence, six years in prison, was requested against Florian D., the main defendant in the case, accused of having "gathered" around him five other men and a woman to prepare a violent action against the police. All dispute the charges.
A ten-year ban on possessing a weapon was also requested against all the defendants, and for some a fine of 1500 euros.
«
This case is first and foremost Florian D.'s," said one of the two representatives of the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office during his closing arguments. "It's less about a group and more about a radicalized man who has aggregated his comrades."
«
His actions are part of a continuity and a logic: he is preparing for armed struggle, for the preparation of violent action against the forces of order," said the other representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office, insisting on the fact that it was he who "carried" the terrorist project, to which the others had then joined. However, no imminent attack has been envisaged, according to the anti-terrorism investigating judges.
"Tactical Progression and Shooting Training"
For nearly five hours, the two prosecutors returned to the "addition of material evidence" in the case, which can only be read "as a whole".
At the origin of the case, a report by the domestic intelligence service on a violent action project fomented by ultra-left activists, and in particular by Florian D., a libertarian activist now 39 years old, who fought in 2017 with the Kurds of the People's Protection Units (YPG) in Rojava (north-east Syria) against the jihadist group Islamic State.
After several months of surveillance and wiretapping, the suspects were arrested on December 8, 2020, in various places in France, and then indicted. During the searches, the police found products used to make explosives and weapons.
The defendants are suspected of engaging in "tactical progression and shooting training" and of having manufactured and tested explosives with a view to attacking police or military personnel.
During the hearings, they disputed these accusations. Acknowledging that they had tested explosives and played a few games of airsoft, the defendants recounted "fun" sessions carried out during the lockdown, without any malicious intent behind them.