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Le Monde (13 April 2026)

The French company, since acquired by the Swiss group Holcim, and former executives were charged with paying several million euros to armed jihadist groups in 2013–2014, through its Syrian subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS). 

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.

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