Bruno Lafont, former CEO of Lafarge arrives at court in Paris on April 13, 2026. MICHEL EULER / AP
A Paris court on Monday, April 13, ruled that cement conglomerate Lafarge was guilty of paying protection money to the Islamic State group and other jihadists to maintain its business in war-torn Syria. The ruling follows a 2022 case in the United States in which the French firm pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to US-designated "terrorist" organizations and agreed to pay a $778-million fine, in what was the first time a corporation had faced the charge.
The Paris court found Lafarge – which has since been acquired by Swiss conglomerate Holcim – paid nearly €5.6 million in 2013 and 2014, via its subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS), to jihadist groups and intermediaries to keep its plant operating in northern Syria.
"This method of financing terrorist organizations, and primarily IS, was essential in enabling the terrorist organization to gain control of Syria's natural resources, allowing it to finance terrorist acts within the region and those planned abroad, particularly in Europe," said the presiding judge, Isabelle Prevost-Desprez. The company established a "genuine commercial partnership with IS," she added, noting the amount paid to jihadist organizations – which was "never disclosed" – contributed to the "extreme gravity of the offenses."
