Terrorism Against French Interests in 1985 (b)(3)
Terrorism Against French Interests, 1985
France experienced high levels of both domestic and international terrorism in 1985. Our data for last year record a total of 189 incidents involving French interests, causing 130 casualties: 27 fatalities, 97 wounded, and six victims of kidnapings. Indigenous groups were responsible for 144 attacks, and French personnel or property were targeted in 45 international incidents. France ranked a distant third overall as a target of international terrorist activity, behind Israel and the United States. (b)(3)
Indigenous
International
Totals
Incidents
144
45
189
Casualties
Killed
10
17
27
Wounded
85
12
97
6
6
Kidnaped Groups responsible National Front for the Liberation of Corsica
92
Action Directe
17
The Setting France must contend with terrorist attacks from several separatist factions—in such diverse locations as Corsica, New Caledonia, and the French Caribbean--as well as from Action Directe, an indigenous anarchist movement with an international faction. The French also are victimized by the Spanish Basque separatist organization Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) and its French counterpart, Iparretarak. Moreover, international terrorist groups
Anti-NATO
S
11
9
Iparretarak New Caledonia related Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance Spanish Basques/Antiterrorist Liberation Group
1
1
have targeted French in(b)(3) elsewhere in Europe
25
and in the Middle East.
Hizballah
8
2
14
4
LARF/ASALA Geographic, political, economic, and military factors combine to make France a particularly attractive
Unknown/Miscellaneous
(b)(3) setting for international terrorism. It is the geographic center of Western Europe, with six easily crossed international boundaries, and is readily accessible Separatist Violence from Africa and the Middle East. The traditional Most anti-French terrorism is carried out by French tolerance of political dissidents—as
separatist groups attempting to win independence exemplified by its granting of asylum to persons from France. One in particular, the National Front suspected of involvement in terrorist activityfor the Liberation of Corsica (FLNC), accounted for encouraged large numbers of radicals to take up 92 of the 144 indigenous incidents in 1985. The residence there. France also has a large population of FLNC typically sets off multiple property bombs foreign students and immigrant workers, which
simultaneously during the night. While its attacks terrorist groups, such as the Lebanese Armed
generally do not cause casualties, five persons were Revolutionary Faction (LARF), have used as a source killed and four wounded last year. The group's for both recruiting new members and building support operations in 1985 were sporadic and, for the fourth networks. Economic and military factors, such as consecutive year, the number of FLNC attacks arms sales to Iraq and the French military presence in declined—a trend we expect to continue, (b)(3) Lebanon, also prompt anti-French terrorist attacks, particularly in the Middle East. [(b)(3) ]
29
Seeret
DI TR 86-005 April 1986
Approved for Release: 2017/09/13 C05632837