Alain Mafart
Encyclopedia
Alain Mafart is a French military officer best known for his part in the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior
.
Mafart was a DGSE agent and deputy commander of the French Navy Training Centre in Corsica
. He supported the sabotage team that travelled to New Zealand
and bombed and sank the Rainbow Warrior
, drowning photographer Fernando Pereira
.
He was apprehended by New Zealand
police, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on November 22, 1985. Following a United Nations
sponsored mediation between New Zealand and France
in July 1986, Mafart was deported to the island of Hao
in French Polynesia
to serve three years. In return, France apologised to New Zealand and paid New Zealand $6.5 million.
However, on December 14, 1987, Mafart was returned to Paris
after complaining of stomach pains. After treatment he was not returned to the island and in 1988 enrolled on a two-year course at the École de Guerre (War College) in Paris.
Mafart was promoted to Colonel in December 1993. According to Le Monde
, Mafart was then serving near Paris on a base housing several command staffs, including that of military intelligence.
His commanding officer during the Rainbow Warrior affair became an aide to Defence Minister Francois Léotard
.
He wrote a book "Carnets secrets d'un nageur de combat: Du Rainbow Warrior aux glaces de l'Arctique" (Secret notebooks of a naval frogman: Rainbow Warrior to the ices of the Arctic) that concerned his role in the bombing.
Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, codenamed Opération Satanique, was an operation by the "action" branch of the French foreign intelligence services, the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure , carried out on July 10, 1985...
.
Mafart was a DGSE agent and deputy commander of the French Navy Training Centre in Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
. He supported the sabotage team that travelled to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and bombed and sank the Rainbow Warrior
Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, codenamed Opération Satanique, was an operation by the "action" branch of the French foreign intelligence services, the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure , carried out on July 10, 1985...
, drowning photographer Fernando Pereira
Fernando Pereira
Fernando Pereira was a freelance Dutch photographer, of Portuguese origin, who drowned when French intelligence used two underwater mines to sink the ship Rainbow Warrior, owned by the environmental organisation Greenpeace on July 10, 1985 .The bombing of the boat had been designed to make the ship...
.
He was apprehended by New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
police, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on November 22, 1985. Following a United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
sponsored mediation between New Zealand and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in July 1986, Mafart was deported to the island of Hao
Hao (French Polynesia)
Hao, or Haorangi, is a large coral atoll in the central part of the Tuamotu Archipelago. Because of its shape, French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville named it Harp Island....
in French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
to serve three years. In return, France apologised to New Zealand and paid New Zealand $6.5 million.
However, on December 14, 1987, Mafart was returned to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
after complaining of stomach pains. After treatment he was not returned to the island and in 1988 enrolled on a two-year course at the École de Guerre (War College) in Paris.
Mafart was promoted to Colonel in December 1993. According to Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
, Mafart was then serving near Paris on a base housing several command staffs, including that of military intelligence.
His commanding officer during the Rainbow Warrior affair became an aide to Defence Minister Francois Léotard
François Léotard
François Gerard Marie Léotard is a retired French politician. The late singer and actor Philippe Léotard was his brother....
.
He wrote a book "Carnets secrets d'un nageur de combat: Du Rainbow Warrior aux glaces de l'Arctique" (Secret notebooks of a naval frogman: Rainbow Warrior to the ices of the Arctic) that concerned his role in the bombing.
External links
- "Where are they now", from the Greenpeace archives
- The Rainbow Warrior Affair