"This follows the charges brought by the Centre's associate in France, the BNVCA."

Paris, 30 March 2012

The Simon Wiesenthal Centre-France expressed its satisfaction at French Interior Minister Claude Gueant's announcement of the prohibition and 
dissolution of the Islamist Forsane Alizza group. 

The Centre's President, Richard Odier, noted that "these steps followed a legal suit against the group brought by the BNVCA - the National 
Bureau for Vigilance Against Antisemitism - which is sponsored by the Wiesenthal Centre".

Forsane Alizza was founded in 2010, and charges were already brought against them a few weeks later for their occupation of McDonalds in the 
city of Limoges, where they distributed antisemitic materials calling for "the boycott of the fast-food chain" which they claimed, "is a partner of the United Jewish Appeal and the Jewish Federation". 

The Appeals Court condemned the group's leader, Mohammed Achamlane, to 4 months jail and a 2,000 euro fine. 

The latter had called for "burning the French Criminal Code as none of its articles protected Muslims", to cries of "Allahu Akbar" from the 
Court's gallery. 

The Wiesenthal Centre's Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, called for "this legal victory against Forsane Alizza to be promptly applied to the BDS(Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement and all other organizations that abuse freedom of expression to incite to a hatred that ultimately ends in antisemitic pogroms, as last week in Toulouse". 

BNVCA President, Sammy Ghozlan added that "any further boycott actions by the members of the banned Forsane Alizza group could now face a three year prison sentence and a 45,000 euro fine under the law of 10 January 1936". 

"The Centre and the BNVCA have raised their monitoring level - in accord with the French Government - to Code Red", concluded Samuels and Ghozlan.