PARIS

A Paris court has sentenced Alexandre Gilet, a former volunteer gendarme, to 18 years in prison for conspiring to carry out far-right terrorist attacks, local media reported on Monday.

Gilet was convicted of planning violent assaults on Muslim and Jewish places of worship, as well as plotting to target political figures, including Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of the left-wing La France Insoumise party, according to Ouest France.

The 36-year-old led a small group of far-right extremists through a private online forum called Waffenkraft ("firepower" in German), where members frequently engaged in hate speech against Jews, Muslims, homosexuals, and French institutions. Prosecutors described Gilet, who was expelled from the National Gendarmerie, as the group's most radical member.

Investigators discovered a significant cache of firearms and explosive materials in Gilet's home, along with a manifesto in which he outlined potential terrorist scenarios, inspired by the methods of far-right mass murderers.

Three other members of the group were previously sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to five years. They did not appeal their convictions.

*Writing by Yasin Gungor in Istanbul