Charles Martel Group
Encyclopedia
The Charles Martel Group (also known as the Charles Martel Club) was a French
far-right anti-Arab terrorist organization which operated in the 1970s and 1980s. It was named after Charles Martel
, the Frankish
military leader who defeated invaders of the Umayyad Caliphate at the Battle of Tours
in 732.
Their attacks were primarily centered on Algerian properties or businesses and also aimed at the Algerian government. This stemmed from the near decade long war fought between France and Algeria after World War II between 1954-1962. Algeria had long been a colony of the French and saw other colonized nations gaining their independence, mainly from Great Britain. This among other factors led to a horrible war that included acts of brutality, torture and guerrilla warfare. The end result was an independent Algeria but a tremendous amount of hostility remaining between the two nations. What added insult to injury for French citizens was at the end of the decade when refugees from Algeria began to migrate north and settle in the French countryside.
Choosing Martel as the namesake of the radical group stems from his successful defense of the then Frankish Kingdom over a thousand years prior. What makes Martel stand out above the numerous other French military leaders through the years is his battle was against Arab invaders, in other words a background similar to that
of the Algerians targeted by the extremists here.
There have been other groups with similar interests to that of the Charles Martel Group in and outside of France. A terrorist organization targeting the French government for supporting the Algerian independence movement popped up using a similar name in the 1960s before the radical group came together. This original group never got around to acts of violence. A Charles Martel Society has formed in America with some radical overtones, but it too seems to be a non-violent group.
Historians differ on when the group actually formed. Some do not credit the first attack to this group as they have the group coming together in 1975. However, since this attack targeted Algerian offices and killed Algerian refugees it is associated with the group.
These were two separate attacks on the same day, yet it appears they were done more as a scare tactic as nobody was injured in either attack. This gives merit to the argument that the first attack years earlier was an independent group. Bombing the offices of the major airline of Algeria would seem to infer that the next step would be a hijacking or bombing of an actual airline.
An openly admitted attack by the group. For the first time since granting Algeria their independence, the French head of state, at this time Valery Giscard-d'Estaing, was making a visit to the former colony. Relations had not been going well and the Algerians were upset at many things, including prior terror attacks, and rightfully so. The French president made a bold move by going. This outraged the radicals and led to a minor incident here, but widespread fear that worse was to come.
Mauritania was another former French colony who was now involved in a war of their own with other African factions including the radical group known as the Polisario Front. The French were giving aid to their former colony in the form of weapons and other resources. Then two French men working in the mining industry in Mauritania were killed and another six were kidnapped. The Charles Martel Group acted quickly after this but showed some restraint by sparing the lives of the two men they kidnapped.
Little is known about this act. Primarily because nobody was injured once again. It had also been well over two years since the previous attack, it was possible that some of the resentment was starting to fade.
This attack came less than a week after the previous bombing but once again failed to injure anyone. It is difficult to know the exact times of the attacks, but it is likely that there was intent to not harm anyone during most of these attacks. The intent was to leave a message and in this case that was done literally.
This was seemingly the final act by the Charles Martel Group. If the first bombing is discounted, and to some it was not the work of the group, then this groups actions have a symmetrical irony. It started and ended with a bombing of an Air Algerie office in different parts of France. Several more bombings occurred in between, but with no casualties.
It would be correct to assume the Charles Martel Group was formed as a backlash to Algerian migration into France.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
far-right anti-Arab terrorist organization which operated in the 1970s and 1980s. It was named after Charles Martel
Charles Martel
Charles Martel , also known as Charles the Hammer, was a Frankish military and political leader, who served as Mayor of the Palace under the Merovingian kings and ruled de facto during an interregnum at the end of his life, using the title Duke and Prince of the Franks. In 739 he was offered the...
, the Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
military leader who defeated invaders of the Umayyad Caliphate at the Battle of Tours
Battle of Tours
The Battle of Tours , also called the Battle of Poitiers and in Battle of the Court of the Martyrs, was fought in an area between the cities of Poitiers and Tours, located in north-central France, near the village of Moussais-la-Bataille, about northeast of Poitiers...
in 732.
Their attacks were primarily centered on Algerian properties or businesses and also aimed at the Algerian government. This stemmed from the near decade long war fought between France and Algeria after World War II between 1954-1962. Algeria had long been a colony of the French and saw other colonized nations gaining their independence, mainly from Great Britain. This among other factors led to a horrible war that included acts of brutality, torture and guerrilla warfare. The end result was an independent Algeria but a tremendous amount of hostility remaining between the two nations. What added insult to injury for French citizens was at the end of the decade when refugees from Algeria began to migrate north and settle in the French countryside.
Choosing Martel as the namesake of the radical group stems from his successful defense of the then Frankish Kingdom over a thousand years prior. What makes Martel stand out above the numerous other French military leaders through the years is his battle was against Arab invaders, in other words a background similar to that
of the Algerians targeted by the extremists here.
There have been other groups with similar interests to that of the Charles Martel Group in and outside of France. A terrorist organization targeting the French government for supporting the Algerian independence movement popped up using a similar name in the 1960s before the radical group came together. This original group never got around to acts of violence. A Charles Martel Society has formed in America with some radical overtones, but it too seems to be a non-violent group.
Attacks
- 14 December 1973 - Bomb attack on the Algerian consulate offices in Marseilles. Four Algerians were killed and 20 injured.
Historians differ on when the group actually formed. Some do not credit the first attack to this group as they have the group coming together in 1975. However, since this attack targeted Algerian offices and killed Algerian refugees it is associated with the group.
- 2 March 1975 - Bomb attacks on the Air AlgérieAir AlgérieAir Algérie SpA is the national flag carrier airline of Algeria, with its head office in the Immeuble El-Djazair in Algiers. With flights operating from Houari Boumedienne Airport, Air Algérie operates scheduled international services to 39 destinations in 28 countries in Europe, North America,...
offices in ToulouseToulouseToulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
and LyonLyonLyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
. No-one was hurt.
These were two separate attacks on the same day, yet it appears they were done more as a scare tactic as nobody was injured in either attack. This gives merit to the argument that the first attack years earlier was an independent group. Bombing the offices of the major airline of Algeria would seem to infer that the next step would be a hijacking or bombing of an actual airline.
- 10 April 1975 - Car bombCar bombA car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
explodes outside the Algerian consulate in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. No-one was hurt. Claimed by the Charles Martel group as a protest against the French President's visit to Algeria.
An openly admitted attack by the group. For the first time since granting Algeria their independence, the French head of state, at this time Valery Giscard-d'Estaing, was making a visit to the former colony. Relations had not been going well and the Algerians were upset at many things, including prior terror attacks, and rightfully so. The French president made a bold move by going. This outraged the radicals and led to a minor incident here, but widespread fear that worse was to come.
- 1 November 1977 - Two Algerians kidnapped in Paris. Claimed as a reprisal for the kidnapping of two French nationals in MauritaniaMauritaniaMauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
the previous month by the Algerian-backed Polisario FrontPolisario FrontThe POLISARIO, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro is a Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement working for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco...
.
Mauritania was another former French colony who was now involved in a war of their own with other African factions including the radical group known as the Polisario Front. The French were giving aid to their former colony in the form of weapons and other resources. Then two French men working in the mining industry in Mauritania were killed and another six were kidnapped. The Charles Martel Group acted quickly after this but showed some restraint by sparing the lives of the two men they kidnapped.
- 7 May 1980 - Bombing of the North African Moslem Students Association. No-one was hurt.
Little is known about this act. Primarily because nobody was injured once again. It had also been well over two years since the previous attack, it was possible that some of the resentment was starting to fade.
- 11 May 1980 - Algerian consulate in AubervilliersAubervilliersAubervilliers is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Name:In medieval times the name Aubervilliers was recorded as Alberti Villare, meaning "estate of Adalbert"...
bombed. No-one was hurt. A handwritten leaflet was left claiming responsibility, and stating that the Charles Martel Group was "against the church, the Jews, the starving of the Third World, and for the white race".
This attack came less than a week after the previous bombing but once again failed to injure anyone. It is difficult to know the exact times of the attacks, but it is likely that there was intent to not harm anyone during most of these attacks. The intent was to leave a message and in this case that was done literally.
- 9 August 1983 - Bomb attack on the Air Algérie office in Marseilles. No-one was hurt.
This was seemingly the final act by the Charles Martel Group. If the first bombing is discounted, and to some it was not the work of the group, then this groups actions have a symmetrical irony. It started and ended with a bombing of an Air Algerie office in different parts of France. Several more bombings occurred in between, but with no casualties.
It would be correct to assume the Charles Martel Group was formed as a backlash to Algerian migration into France.