On 22 April 1982, a powerful

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roug ...

detonated on Rue Marbeuf in the

8th arrondissement of Paris The 8th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le huitième'' (). The ar ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

during the morning rush hour. It killed a young woman and injured 60 other people. The offices of the Lebanese newspaper Al-Watan al-Arabi appeared to be the target.

Background

Relations between France and Syria were generally excellent until the assassination of the French Ambassador to Lebanon, Louis Delamare, on 4 September 1981. Delamare was shot in

West Beirut West Beirut is a term referring to the western part of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, which became popular during the Lebanese Civil War that lasted from 1975 to 1990, when the city was divided along sectarian lines into two main areas: West Beiru ...

nearby a

Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...

roadblock during the

Syrian occupation of Lebanon The Syrian occupation of Lebanon lasted from 31 May 1976, beginning with the Syrian intervention in the Lebanese Civil War, until 30 April 2005. This period saw significant Syrian military and political influence over Lebanon, impacting its g ...

. An investigation from the ''Al-Watan Al-Arabi'' newspaper, which is anti-Syrian, found that Lebanese Shi'ites acting on behalf of the Syrian special services were responsible. This account was soon spread throughout the French press. In March a high speed Le Capitole train in France was bombed, killing five people. On 4 April 1982, Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov was assassinated in Paris, apparently the work of the

Palestine Liberation Organisation The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the occupied Palestinian territories and the diaspora. ...

(PLO) or the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF).

Motives

The bombing was also speculated to be linked to two comrades of Venezuelan international terrorist

Ilich Ramírez Sánchez Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (; born 12 October 1949), also known as Carlos the Jackal () or simply Carlos, is a Venezuelan convict who conducted a series of assassinations and terrorist bombings from 1973 to 1985. A committed Marxist–Leninist, h ...

, also known as "Carlos the Jackal" - Bruno Bréguet and Magdalena Kopp - who were both facing trial that day after being arrested on 16 February in Paris. The ''Al-Watan Al-Arabi'' reportedly annoyed Syrian President

Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad (6 October 193010 June 2000) was a Syrian politician and military officer who was the president of Syria from 1971 until Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad, his death in 2000. He was previously the Prime Minister of Syria ...

. Carlos, Bréguet and Kopp had already been granted asylum in Syria. It is thought Bréguet and Kopp were already attempting to bomb the offices that day as 5 kg of nitropenta explosives were found in their car when they were arrested. According to French prosecutors in 2011, Carlos masterminded the attacks partly to force the authorities to free Bréguet and Kopp.

Aftermath

After the bombing, the French government expelled two Syrian diplomats and recalled its ambassador from

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

for consultation. Interior Minister

Gaston Defferre Gaston Defferre (14 September 1910 – 7 May 1986) was a French Socialist politician. He served as mayor of Marseille for 33 years until his death in 1986. He was minister for overseas territories in Guy Mollet’s socialist government in 1956 ...

stopped short however from blaming the Syrian government on the bombing. The Syrian Foreign Minister Abdul Halim Khaddam's visit to France scheduled that night was cancelled. Syria denied any link with the bombing and responded by ordering out two French diplomats and recalling its envoy from Paris. On 25 May 1982, a car bomb inside the French Embassy in Beirut killed 11 people. Bréguet and Kopp were charged in court, but were given lighter sentences following threatening letters from Carlos to French authorities. They were later paroled in 1985. In 2011, Carlos was tried for involvement in the attack. He denied any connections with the attack, including the Capitole train bombing in March and other attacks in 1983. He was convicted in December 2011 and sentenced to life in prison on top of his existing sentences.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paris car bombing 1982 building bombings 1982 in Paris Car and truck bombings in France April 1982 in Europe Building bombings in Paris France–Syria relations 1982 murders in France Terrorist incidents in France in 1982 Communist terrorist incidents in Europe 1980s murders in Paris Attacks on mass media offices in France Car and truck bombings in the 1980s

Background

Motives

Aftermath

See also

References