The Athanor Trial: Unrecognized Masonic Lodge Near Paris Faces Murder and Contract Killing Charges

One of the most unusual criminal trials in modern French history began before the Paris assize court on March 30. Twenty-two people face charges of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, and participation in a criminal conspiracy. Thirteen of them face life sentences. According to the prosecution, all of these acts were linked to a network the prosecution describes as criminal, which formed around a group calling itself the Masonic lodge Athanor in the Paris suburb of Puteaux. France 24 ↗

It is important to emphasize that the Athanor lodge was never officially recognized by any of the major French Masonic obediences, whether the Grand Orient de France, the Grande Loge de France, or the Grande Loge Nationale Française. In France, there is no trademark on the words "Freemason" or "lodge," so anyone can adopt them. This is therefore not a case originating from within regular Freemasonry, but a group that appropriated that status for itself. Euronews ↗

Among the defendants are also four former members of the French foreign intelligence service DGSE, two police officers, and one retiree of the domestic counterintelligence service DGSI. These are exclusively individual actions, not official activity of these institutions. According to France 24, several of the defendants previously had no criminal record — besides members of the security services, they also include businesspeople and managers. The trial will run until July 17, 2026. Euronews ↗


The Attempted Murder That Exposed Everything

The case began to unravel on the night of July 23–24, 2020, in the town of Créteil near Paris. An observant neighbor reported a suspicious black Renault Clio with fake license plates parked in front of an apartment building. When police were called and checked the vehicle, they found two gloved men inside, armed with military knives and a loaded 9mm pistol. Under the car of the victim, businesswoman and personal development coach Marie-Hélène Dini, they also discovered a tracking device. Courthouse News ↗

Both men detained were members of a French paratrooper regiment. In their testimony, they claimed to have been acting on behalf of the French state, and that their task was to eliminate Dini because she allegedly worked for the Israeli intelligence service Mossad. However, investigators found no evidence to support this claim and concluded that the likely motive was different. France 24 ↗

According to investigators, the trail led to Jean-Luc Bagur, a 69-year-old owner of a rival coaching school and also the so-called worshipful master of the Athanor lodge. Dini had been trying to professionalize and regulate the coaching sector by creating a professional association, which, according to the prosecution, Bagur perceived as a threat to his business. He allegedly offered 70,000 euros to have her eliminated. Euronews ↗


A Chain of Intermediaries and Hired Attackers

According to the prosecution, Bagur turned to a fellow lodge member, Frédéric Vaglio, a 53-year-old businessman, who was to act as an intermediary between the client and the perpetrators. Vaglio allegedly passed the job on to another Athanor member, 72-year-old Daniel Beaulieu, a former member of the domestic intelligence service DGSI. France 24 ↗

According to the prosecution, Beaulieu's right-hand man was Sébastien Leroy, a former soldier who, after leaving the army, worked as a security operative. Leroy was not a member of the lodge, but according to his own admissions during police questioning, he or his associates carried out most of the attacks, robberies, and murders ordered by the network around Athanor. In his testimony, Leroy claimed that he believed the whole time that he was acting on behalf of the state. According to investigators, the network's leadership knowingly exploited the perpetrators' trust in state institutions to convince them of the legitimacy of the jobs. Euronews ↗


The Murdered Racing Driver

The most serious act in the indictment is the murder of Laurent Pasquali, a French racing driver born in 1975 in Uccle, Belgium. According to investigators, Pasquali was shot dead on November 29, 2018, in the underground garage of his apartment building in Levallois-Perret. His body was transported by the hired killers and buried in a remote forest near the village of Cistrières in the Haute-Loire department, hundreds of kilometers from Paris. The remains were discovered by a chance passerby only nine months later. France Bleu ↗

According to investigators, the motive for the murder was Pasquali's debts, amounting to between 100,000 and 200,000 euros. The creditors allegedly turned to a group within Athanor to collect the debt. Courthouse News ↗


Other Victims and the Escalation of Violence

The indictment also includes the attempted murder of union member and Yellow Vests movement participant Hassan Touzani, whom his employers, according to the prosecution, considered a nuisance. In total, the indictment contains dozens of acts, including kidnappings, threats, and aggravated assaults. France 24 ↗

According to Euronews, the criminal activity attributed to members of the group gradually escalated from minor acts of revenge to murders. According to the indictment, the network operated with a hierarchical structure, in which clients from among the businessmen used intermediaries and perpetrators with military and intelligence training. Euronews ↗

According to French media, the Athanor trial is one of the largest court cases in the country in recent years. A key challenge for the court will be to untangle the chain of responsibility among the clients, intermediaries, and perpetrators, who are accusing one another. All defendants are presumed innocent until the court rules otherwise.