A far-right group broken up by French police this summer was discussing plans to attack Muslims by poisoning halal food, according to police interview transcripts secured by a French newspaper.
Thirteen people were arrested in June and July after an undercover police operation targeted the Operational Forces Action group (OFA), a small vigilante group dedicated to fighting the “Islamic peril”, according to media reports.
Four of those held were reportedly linked to victims or those caught up in the coordinated series of terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015 that left 137 people dead. Other suspects were from middle-class backgrounds, or had police and military backgrounds, according to the transcripts secured by Le Monde and published this week.
The AFO – a small and little-known group - planned to respond to further Islamist extremist attacks in France by retaliating at a number of locations, according to a document recovered from the home of one of the suspects.
Plans included using a syringe to poison halal food in Muslim-populated areas, targeting imams identified by group members as fundamentalists and attacking mosques and bookshops with homemade grenades.
The suspects claimed the plans were ideas that were never going to be carried out, according to Le Monde. Members of the group were said, however, to have reconnoitred Paris supermarkets and were planning to test poisons on animals in August. One suspect was accused of buying material to turn into homemade explosives.
The group, which had more than 100 members, was allegedly led by a 64-year-old former police officer and they used code names from historical French figures. The ex-officer was known as Richelieu, after a 17th century cardinal.
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The arrests were carried out across France, including the island of Corsica and within the Paris suburbs. Those arrested, aged between 32 and 69, included women. Four people remain in custody.
One member of the AFO, a 62-year-old mathematician code-named Fermat claimed the group was not fundamentalist and did not advocate violence.
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
8 UAE companies helping families reduce their carbon footprint
Greenheart Organic Farms
This Dubai company was one of the country’s first organic farms, set up in 2012, and it now delivers a wide array of fruits and vegetables grown regionally or in the UAE, as well as other grocery items, to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi doorsteps.
www.greenheartuae.com
Modibodi
Founded in Australia, Modibodi is now in the UAE with waste-free, reusable underwear that eliminates the litter created by a woman’s monthly cycle, which adds up to approximately 136kgs of sanitary waste over a lifetime.
www.modibodi.ae
The Good Karma Co
From brushes made of plant fibres to eco-friendly storage solutions, this company has planet-friendly alternatives to almost everything we need, including tin foil and toothbrushes.
www.instagram.com/thegoodkarmaco
Re:told
One Dubai boutique, Re:told, is taking second-hand garments and selling them on at a fraction of the price, helping to cut back on the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of clothes thrown into landfills each year.
www.shopretold.com
Lush
Lush provides products such as shampoo and conditioner as package-free bars with reusable tins to store.
www.mena.lush.com
Bubble Bro
Offering filtered, still and sparkling water on tap, Bubble Bro is attempting to ensure we don’t produce plastic or glass waste. Founded in 2017 by Adel Abu-Aysha, the company is on track to exceeding its target of saving one million bottles by the end of the year.
www.bubble-bro.com
Coethical
This company offers refillable, eco-friendly home cleaning and hygiene products that are all biodegradable, free of chemicals and certifiably not tested on animals.
www.instagram.com/coethical
Eggs & Soldiers
This bricks-and-mortar shop and e-store, founded by a Dubai mum-of-four, is the place to go for all manner of family products – from reusable cloth diapers to organic skincare and sustainable toys.
www.eggsnsoldiers.com
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Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
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