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PARIS, Oct 19, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A French uranium mining company accused of 
partial responsibility for jihadists abducting some of its employees in Niger 
in 2010 is to be tried, sources following the case told AFP.

Nuclear energy giant Areva, whose activities have since been taken over by 
Orano, has been accused of underestimating the threat of the Al-Qaeda 
jihadist group in the northern area of Niger where it was mining.

In 2010, armed men abducted seven Areva employees -- five French nationals, a 
Togolese and a Madagascan -- in Arlit in northern Niger.

One of the French captives, Francoise Larribe, was released five months later 
along with the Madagascan and Togolese nationals.

The four other hostages were only released in October 2013, shortly after 
their detention was claimed by Al-Qaeda's North African branch, Al-Qaeda in 
the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

Magistrates ordered the trial in late September, accusing the French firm of 
carelessness and not implementing enough security measures, leading to its 
staff being taken hostage, the sources said.

France's anti-terror prosecutor's office was against a trial and has appealed 
the decision, a judicial source said.

The group's lawyer declined to comment, but the head of the firm's legal 
department in 2022 denied any wrongdoing.

An investigation revealed that the group had signed a deal with Nigerien 
authorities for local troops to protect their mining sites, as well as the 
housing and movements of expatriate staff.

Olivier Morice, a lawyer for one of the former hostages Pierre Legrand, said 
it was "unacceptable to note that despite numerous warnings to Areva, nothing 
was seriously done to protect employees on site".