After six weeks of hearings, the landmark criminal trial against French multinational Lafarge and several of its former executives has concluded at the Paris Criminal Court. The verdict will be delivered on 13 April 2026, almost a decade after ECCHR and Sherpa, together with former Syrian employees, first filed the case. The company Lafarge, four former top executives, and four managers and intermediaries, are accused of having transferred € 4,7 million to terrorist groups - notably to the Islamic State - in Syria in 2013-2014 to keep its cement plant operating.
In their closing arguments, the Anti-Terrorism Prosecutors urged the court to find all defendants guilty. They requested the maximum fine for Lafarge as a company, prison sentences of up to eight years – including six years for former CEO of the group, Bruno Lafont - and bans on holding commercial positions. They described the defendants´ choices as “astonishingly cynical”, noting that they showed no remorse throughout the trial. Prosecutors said that there was “no doubt” the defendants knew exactly what they were doing when transferring millions of euros to the Islamic State - “amounts that make us dizzy” and are, by far, a record in French judicial history.
The prosecutors emphasized the “extraordinary” and “meticulous” work of Sherpa and ECCHR, noting its major impact on the justice system´s handling of the case, and highlighted the “essential” role of former employees' testimonies.
Former Lafarge Syrian employees demonstrated extraordinary courage. Despite years of delays, they testified in person about the impact of Lafarge’s decisions on their lives. While non-Syrian staff were evacuated to safety, Syrians were left to keep the factory running for another two years, until it was attacked by the Islamic State. Daily struggles for them involved threats of immediate dismissal, crossing sniper zones and checkpoints, kidnappings, bombings, and potential retaliation from armed groups.
“Lafarge’s goal was to keep the plant running and to make money at any cost, we had no other choice: either starve to death or work!” they stated in court.
The defense strategies crumbled over the course of the trial. Defendants claimed they were unaware at the time that the Islamic State, Al-Nusra Front and Ahrar Al-Sham were sanctioned terrorist organizations and argued France had encouraged them to stay to gather intelligence. They also claimed to be victims of racketeering, and most denied knowledge of the money transfers. However, all of the accused faced overwhelming “smoking gun” evidence to the contrary and failed to convince the prosecution.
Holding Lafarge accountable for its actions in Syria is essential in the fight against corporate impunity, ensuring that businesses can not exploit vulnerable populations or fuel violence in conflict zones.
“This trial highlighted the impact of decisions taken by French executives. Syrian employees became human shields for the factory: they had to keep it running to protect Lafarge’s investment - even if it meant for the group to pay terrorist groups. We expect the verdict to send a strong message to multinationals, that the widespread impunity of economic actors can no longer prevail,” said Anna Kiefer, of Sherpa.
“The collective cynicism and persistent denial of white-collar actors in this case only reinforce one truth: in their minds, the pursuit of profit and asset preservation served to justify contributing to atrocities. This is precisely why corporate accountability matters,” said Claire Tixeire of ECCHR. “The evidence presented during the trial strikingly deconstructed key tactics that have enabled multinationals to pave their impunity: hiding behind subsidiaries abroad, shirking responsibility through complex decision-making chains, and the so-called ‘neutrality of business,” added Cannelle Lavite of ECCHR.
This trial highlighted the crimes against humanity and genocide committed against the Yezidis by the Islamic State during the period of Lafarge’s financing, making its potential complicity in these crimes an increasingly urgent issue for the courts to decide. Lafarge remains formally charged with complicity in crimes against humanity in ongoing judicial investigations. ECCHR and Sherpa will continue to pursue justice, including on labor-related charges.
More information about the case and our weekly trial reports here. Also consult our Q&A.
