Charles Martel Group

The Charles Martel Group (French: Groupe Charles-Martel, also Club Charles-Martel, Cercle Charles-Martel, Commando Charles-Martel) was a French far-right anti-Arab militant group which operated in the 1970s and 1980s. It was named after Charles Martel, the Frankish military leader who defeated the Umayyad invasion of Gaul at the Battle of Tours in 732. The group was formed by veterans of the Organisation armée secrète, which fought against Algerian independence during the Algerian War.

Their attacks were primarily centered on Algerian properties, businesses, and government offices. This stemmed from the Algerian war fought between France and the FLN between 1954 and 1962. Algeria had long been a colony of the French and saw other colonized nations gaining their independence in the aftermath of World War II. This led to a prolonged guerrilla war, with acts of terrorism, torture and war crimes being committed by multiple actors in the conflict. Algeria ultimately gained independence, resulting in the exodus of the Jewish, Pied-noir and Harki communities from the region. In several cases multiple groups claimed responsibility for attacks in the 1970s and 1980s, and the parties actually responsible have not been definitively established.