FRANCAISGuilde européenne du raid - Comments
3) Links to politics
-The political past of several members of the Guild explains its “right wing” reputation. Patrick Edel belonged to the OAS (Organisation of the Secret Army) and was previously taken to jail due to his opposition to the independence of Algeria in 1962. Among other volunteers were nationalistic militants such as Laurent Maréchaux and Alain Boinet both paratrooper officers coming from the Youth Action Group which, back in the 1970s, had attacked some American companies established in France, and made common cause with the Christian militias in Lebanon (Laurent Maréchaux was sentenced several months in jail when he opposed his taken into custody at the Aeroflot office in Paris on 14th February 1977; Alain Boinet launched the Solidarités NGO in 1991). A military training, an anti communist stand or an ideological support to the Christian “freedom fighters” in Lebanon led some of the Guild’s volunteers to step forward and participate to armed struggles, especially in Afghanistan where Patrice Franceschi escorted caravans to the Mujahidin and later on participated to the launching of Solidarités. Yet, according to Patrick Edel, the head office in Paris did know nothing about these personal initiatives which neither affected the organization, nor reflected its various members’ diversity of political opinions. A permanent member and several times chairman of the Guild, Christian Des Pallières stood at local elections on the Socialist Party roll.
