Active c. 2012 – present Area of operations Provence, France | Ideology Provençal nationalism Opponents Government of France | |
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The National Liberation Front of Provence, or FLNP, is a militant nationalist group that advocates an independent state of Provence, separate from France. The FLNP was created in 2012 and is still active today.
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2013
On 21 January 2013, a bomb was discovered outside a real estate agency in Garéoult in Var. The estate agency was immediately evacuated and the bomb was defused. Leaflets were left at the site claiming the independence of Provence, and criticizing the central government and real estate speculators who "prevent" the Provençal people having access to their own land. Two months later, on 23 March 2013, a homemade bomb exploded outside an estate agency in Sanary-sur-Mer. The explosion caused only material damage and was accompanied by graffiti tags at the scene proclaiming: "FLNP Provença libra". Another bomb was discovered on the morning of May 7, 2013, in the centre of Draguignan, outside a branch of the BNP Paribas bank. The bomb was defused by a robot and other leaflets were found on site, with the inscription "Osca FLNP Prouvenço".
Various tags and graffiti are found in many places in Provence and particularly concentrated around inland areas of the Var and Bouches-du-Rhône départments.
2014
On 22 January 2014, an improvised explosive device exploded at a tax office in Aix-en-Provence. The device exploded at night and caused only material damage but was highly symbolic. This act was the most significant attack on the French state made by the FLNP and provoked the widest media coverage. Other "FLNP" tags also appeared after a short period of inactivity.
On 9 December 2014, a 35-year-old was arrested in Nice by anti-terror police and a 43-year-old was arrested in Draguignan. Initially they were arrested on charges related to the graffiti but were questioned relating to charges of terrorism. A few days later both men were released due to lack of evidence.