At the Paris Court of Justice,
For years, the magistrates of the 16th chamber of the Paris Criminal Court have seen radicalized men pass before them. The emergence of the self-proclaimed caliphate by Daesh in Iraq and Syria has generated countless procedures in France for acts of Islamist terrorism. But recently, this jurisdiction has faced a new form of radicalism, that of the ultra-right. Structured, connected and politicized, this movement has become a serious source of concern in the corridors of the intelligence services.
“We are no longer in the presence of a marginal phenomenon but of a phenomenon which is gaining momentum”, confided this Wednesday to AFP the boss of the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT), Jean-François Ricard. The same day, as an echo of this concern, the trial of a man, Aurélien Chapeau, suspected of having disseminated abundant neo-Nazi propaganda, acquired weapons and carried out research on Jewish places of worship, opened to Paris.
An “angry”, “immature” and “stupid” man
Returned to court for “terrorist individual enterprise”, this former cook in the army, converted into security and aged 38, remained padlocked in his defense. That of an “angry”, “immature” and “stupid” man trapped in a “disgusting ideology”, passionate about weapons and eager to “ like » on social networks. A posture weakened on many occasions by the incriminating elements contained in the file. When he was arrested on May 26, 2020 at his home, the DGSI police officers got their hands on a veritable arsenal. An automatic pistol, a revolver, a submachine gun, two magazines, a quantity of ammunition, grenades and numerous knives were seized. But at the time, it was not these illegally purchased weapons that alerted investigators in the first place.
Spotted for several months by “cyberpatrollers”, Aurélien Chapeau broadcasts and possesses significant xenophobic, neo-Nazi and supremacist propaganda content. His anti-Semitic obsession and the distribution of a list of establishments linked to the Jewish community on the discreet social network “Minds” initiate the legal process. In the box, the 30-year-old with close-cropped hair “swears it” however, he never wanted to plan violent action in France. Incarcerated for two years now, he claims to have taken a “step back” with this “toxic hatred” which “messed up his life”.
Warnings without effect
Despite attempts at explanations initiated by the president, Aurélien Chapeau was unable to analyze this shift to the extreme. At 19, after a “quite banal childhood”, the Limougeaud signed a voluntary contract in the army. He likes “the order, the fact that it’s square and that it’s a big family”. He also develops a taste for weapons which are, he says, “treated like women: You have to cherish them, maintain them”. But after seven years spent in his regiment, Aurélien Chapeau abandoned the fatigues for lack of evolution.
Gradually then, the young man isolates himself. He separates from his partner and falls out with his family. His hatred of Jews, which was expressed in 2013 according to those close to him, created a void around him. In 2018, justice called him to order for the first time. A threat – “Soon under my bullets (…) dirty traitors” – posted on the Facebook page of the local branch of SOS Racisme earned him a first conviction. A few months later, another message in which he writes that a “good cop is a dead cop”, sends him again into custody. The president of the 16th chamber is surprised: “Despite the warnings from two different courts and threats of violent acts, we do not see any consideration from you, sir. It’s like water on a duck’s feathers. “I understand,” the defendant merely murmurs.
The gears and the fear of tipping
Over the months, the escalation continues. A member of “Génération Identitaire”, Aurélien Chapeau contacted the Islamophobic group AFO – since dismantled by the police – to whom he offered “steel and dragees”, including “weapons and ammunition”. “But I didn’t follow up, I realized that I was doing anything wrong,” he tries. A realization that is hard to believe since the following year, he confided to one of his interlocutors on the network ” Minds » that he would like to create a French « Atomwaffen Division » cell. This neo-Nazi, supremacist American organization considered terrorist by several states inspired him to the point that he bought on Ebay the skeletal mask worn by its members in their propaganda videos.
Faced with his many racist and violent publications, the defendant takes refuge behind the “virtual”. “There’s the Internet and reality. I just wanted to make the buzz (…) It wasn’t me, it’s an image that I wanted to give on the networks but I’m not like that, ”he insists. An argument again swept away by the president of the court: “Words have a meaning. Today you tell us: I would never have taken action. But the only problem is that everything you tell us, you’ve already said 3 times. By arming yourself more, by posting more and more messages, you are in a progressive escalation and despite the warnings, it always goes further. Judged until Friday, Aurélien Chapeau incurs a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.