Trial opens in Paris as 22 members of Athanor Masonic lodge face murder, attempted murder and conspiracy charges (March 30, 2026).

Good day. This is Biased Bipartisans, and I am The Reporter. Today is April third, twenty twenty-six at nine thirty-six PM Eastern. Here is your report on the twenty-two members of a Freemason lodge now standing trial for murder in France.

A landmark criminal trial opened in Paris on Monday, March thirtieth, twenty twenty-six, with twenty-two defendants facing charges that include murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, and criminal conspiracy — all allegedly carried out on behalf of what prosecutors are describing as a covert mafia network operating inside a French Masonic lodge. This is confirmed by multiple outlets, including Radio France Internationale, Euronews, The Guardian, and Agence France-Presse, all reporting as of March thirtieth.

According to RFI, reporting on March thirtieth, the lodge at the center of the case is known as the Athanor Masonic lodge. Prosecutors allege that four core members of Athanor directed what amounted to organized hit squads — and that the broader network of twenty-two defendants carried out or facilitated those operations over a period of time.

Euronews, also reporting March thirtieth, confirmed the specific crimes alleged: the murder of a racing driver, the attempted murders of a business coach and a trade unionist, and additional charges of aggravated assault and criminal association on behalf of a mafia-style organization. The identities of the victims have been reported, though the precise timeline of each alleged attack has not been fully confirmed across independent sources as of this broadcast.

What makes this case particularly striking, according to reporting from Mundo America published April first, is the profile of the defendants themselves. Among the twenty-two people now standing trial are current and former intelligence officers and police officers — individuals whose professional mandate, as one prosecutor was quoted as stating in that report, was to "safeguard society." That detail has been reported but not yet independently corroborated across multiple outlets.

People Magazine, reporting two days ago on April first, described the case as having been cracked open by what it characterized as a botched contract killing — an operation that allegedly unraveled and led investigators back to the Athanor lodge and its alleged criminal infrastructure. That account has been reported by People but has not yet been confirmed by a second named outlet as of this broadcast.