Unprecedented trial starts of French cement firm accused of funding Islamic State
The multinational cement manufacturer Lafarge went on trial in Paris on November 4th, accused of knowingly financing terrorist groups in Syria between 2012 and 2014, in a case set to last until mid-December. Several former executives, including ex-CEO Bruno Lafont, are also in the dock in what is effectively a legal process where corporate greed is on trial.
ItIt is a quirk of the calendar that is not likely to go unnoticed. As France prepares to commemorate the Islamist attacks of November 13th 2015, a Paris court has, since November 4th, been hosting the trial of the French cement multinational Lafarge, which is accused of financing terrorism after paying millions of euros between 2012 and 2014 to several terrorist groups in Syria. Among them was Islamic State, the same organisation that would drench Paris and the suburb of Saint-Denis in blood one year later.
