“What about France?” A French parliamentarian criticizes Paris’s silence regarding Lafarge’s relationship with ISIS

On Twitter, French parliamentarian Clementine Autin criticized the government for its "failure" to hold the giant cement company "Lafarge" accountable, after the latter admitted supporting the terrorist organization ISIS before a US court.

French parliamentarian Clementine Autin criticized her country's failure to hold the giant cement company "Lafarge" to account, after the latter admitted to supporting the terrorist organization ISIS before a US court.

"The United States is punishing Lafarge for financing ISIS. And what about France?" Oteen asked in a tweet posted on Tuesday evening.

The French MP indicated that she had appealed to the government several times regarding this matter, but her efforts "was in vain", stressing that what happened was the result of "silence and inaction."

Earlier on Tuesday, the US Department of Justice announced that the French cement company Lafarge had pleaded guilty to providing material support to the terrorist organization ISIS in Syria.

The ministry said in a statement that the company will pay a fine of more than $ 777 million after it pleaded guilty to US charges of conspiring to provide material support to armed groups, including the terrorist organization ISIS, in Syria between 2012 and 2014.

This guilty plea was announced by Bryon Peace, Attorney General of the United States for the Eastern District of New York; Lisa O Monaco, Deputy Minister of Justice, and other officials.

Bron Pace said Lafarge "made a deal with Satan and foreign terrorists who have promised and actually done harm to the United States, its people, and its national security, and they did it for profit."

In turn, Lafarge, which was acquired by the Swiss group "Holcim", in 2015, confirmed that it would pay a fine of $ 778 million to the US Department of Justice for aiding ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra during the war in Syria.

"The French cement company Lafarge SA and its Syrian subsidiary have agreed to take responsibility for the actions of the relevant executives, whose behavior was a flagrant violation of Lafarge's code of conduct," it said in a statement.

"We deeply regret that this behavior occurred, and we have worked with the US Department of Justice to resolve this matter," Lafarge said.

The statement noted that "Syrian Lafarge has made payments to armed groups, including ISIS, to protect its employees in the war."

In total, nearly $17 million was paid to the terrorist organization ISIS between 2012 and 2014, according to the same statement.

Lafarge Cement, Syria, ceased operations in October 2014.

From May 2010 to September 2014, Lafarge, through Lafarge Syria Cement Company, operated a cement factory in the Jalabiya region in northern Syria (the Jalabiya Cement Factory), which the company built at a cost of approximately $680 million, according to the US Department of Justice.