Masada Action and Defense Movement

The Masada Action and Defense Movement (Mouvement d'Action et Défense Masada) was a name used to claim responsibility for three bombings against Arab targets in the 1970s and 1980s. The first attack was on a PLO bookstore in Paris in October 1972. The other two attacks, in 1988, targeted hostels in Cannes and Nice that were frequented by North African immigrants. In total one person was killed (in the Nice hostel bombing) and 16 were injured.

The bombers posed as an extremist Zionist group - hence the use of the name "Masada". They left anti-Islam leaflets bearing Stars of David at the scene of one of the 1988 bombings. However, the Zionist moniker was a false flag - the perpetrators were arrested in 1989 and turned out to be French white supremacists who had hoped to provoke tensions between Arabs and Jews in France. They had also been responsible for several other bombings.