An ex-spy and a former journalist were among those jailed Friday after a blockbuster trial detailed a network of violence and criminality linked to a French masonic lodge just outside Paris.
A Paris court heard hundreds of hours of evidence of murder attempts, industrial espionage and outlandish plots over more than three months. Of the 22 defendants in the dock, 17 were convicted and five acquitted.
Among the most serious charges were the murder of a racing driver, the attempted murders of a business coach and a trade unionist, aggravated assault and criminal conspiracy -- all on behalf of a mafia network inside the former Athanor Masonic Lodge in the Paris suburb of Puteaux.
The mastermind of the operation, Daniel Beaulieu, had served in the French domestic intelligence agency and has described himself as a devotee of magic and mind control.
The former freemason used these tricks to convince a hitman that he was working on behalf of the state, rather than settling scores and carrying out contracts for Beaulieu.
