Alexandre Gilet, a former gendarme, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison on appeal for his involvement in terrorist activities.
Gilet, who had joined a neo-Nazi chat group on Discord in 2017 and “actively trained” in shooting, was planning violent actions against Muslim and Jewish communities in France.
He will also be prohibited from holding any public employment for 10 years. Initially sentenced to 18 years in a lower court, Gilet’s appeal focused on removing the mandatory two-thirds security period, which has now been lifted.
The case stems from a 2017 group called “Project Waffenkraft,” a private Discord forum where members exchanged hate speech and threats targeting foreigners, Jews, homosexuals, and institutions.
In July 2018, Gilet and other members, including a 14-year-old, participated in a clandestine shooting session in the forests near Tours, using firearms owned by Gilet.
The group had also been planning violent attacks against mosques, the French Jewish Representative Council (CRIF), and political figures like Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Three other men, including a minor at the time, were also convicted in the original trial but received lighter sentences ranging from three to five years. They did not appeal.
During the appeal, Gilet claimed his radicalisation followed the trauma of the 2015 terrorist attacks, leading him to believe in a “law of retaliation.” However, he insisted there was no actual intention to carry out an attack.
In addition to his prison sentence, Gilet will be under judicial supervision for seven years following his release.
