The French cement manufacturer Lafarge, found guilty of financing jihadists in Syria

A court in Paris found Lafarge, the cement producer Holcim's division, guilty on Monday of charges that its Syrian subsidiary financed terrorism and violated European sanctions to keep a factory operating in northern Syria during the country's civil war.

Eight former Lafarge employees were found guilty, including former CEO Bruno Lafont, who was sentenced to six years in prison. His lawyer told Reuters that he would appeal.

Judges established that, between 2013 and September 2014, Lafarge paid a total of 5.59 million euros (6.54 million dollars) to jihadist groups, including the Islamic State and the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate, both designated as terrorist organizations by the European Union.