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The trial has begun in Paris of eight men accused of financing Islamist networks through crime. They are suspected of being linked to al-Qaeda.
The trial of eight men accused of funding Islamist causes through armed attacks in France began in Paris on Monday.
A 36-year-old French-Algerian known as "the Turk", is accused of heading a gang which carried out armed attacks during 2000 and which allegedly served as a source of funding for al-Qaeda.
The defendants also include several Tunisians and one other Frenchman. Some have admitted being members of a gang and taking part in an attempted robbery, but deny financing militant Islamic movements.
The trial is expected to last for a month and, for the authorities in charge of French antiterrorism, it could help establish a link between radical Islamism and gangs.
It is taking place at a time when French authorities say there is a serious terrorist threat on French soil.
Last September bomb alerts in the French capital forced the authorities to evacuate the Eiffel Tower twice in as many weeks.
Lawyer Michel Hadji, who represents one of the defendants, denies any link between the gang and al-Qaeda.
[Michel Hadji, Lawyer]:
"I am convinced that he is not linked to this and anyway, so far, there is no proof. In this case, there are lots of complications, especially because this gang is said to be linked to al-Qaeda despite the fact that according to me, there is no link at all between them. What is bad is that these defendants have been jailed for 5 years under temporary legal custody."
The Cherifi gang were allegedly based around telephone and internet boutiques and a restaurant in Seine Saint Denis outside Paris.
The inquiry started after a failed attack on the Securitas depot in Beauvais in 2005, after which the group was allegedly disbanded.
