E/CN.4/1996/72/Add.3 page 22 Once they have been written, these leaflets, which frequently end with the instruction that they should be “reproduced and widely disseminated”, are photocopied and redistributed according to the “chain letter” principle. This makes it especially difficult to identify either the original authors or any subsequent distributors. Most of these publications circulate discreetly, if not clandestinely. Their dissemination often reflects the vicissitudes of current events; they come out quickly when major events occur that are widely covered in the media. Developments since 1980 Radical racism, which was relatively moderate until 1982, later began to increase steadily, along with a revival of xenophobia and the emergence of an extreme right movement, whose views on immigration were favourably received in certain quarters by people with financial problems who were sensitive about the issues of insecurity and unemployment. Between 1981 and 1982, the number of racist incidents almost doubled, from 23 to 43. The rise continued, peaking in 1983 (68), 1985 (70) and 1988 (64). the same time, the incidents became increasingly serious and deaths and physical attacks occurred. At For example: On 16 November 1983, on the train between Bordeaux and Ventimiglia, three Foreign Legion recruits threw an Algerian out the window; On 20 August 1984, in Haubourdin (59), a young North African was killed by a supporter of the National Front; On 11 November 1984, in Chateaubriant (44), a bar frequented by Turks was machine-gunned (two persons killed, five injured). The perpetrator, Frédéric Boulay, was jailed and escaped twice from Lannemezan (65); he was caught in Spain and is reportedly being detained there; In May and June 1986, in Toulon, Marseille and Nice, the “Commandos of France against the Maghrebi invasion” claimed responsibility for seven bomb attacks. The four persons responsible - one of whom was Claude Noblia, the leader of the organization SOS France - were killed on 18 August 1986, when their car blew up in Toulon because their own explosive device went off; On 6 March, 5 June and 30 November 1987, in Petit-Quevilly (76) and Caen (14), three attacks took place on North African bars (one person killed, five injured) and “Irgoun Drei” claimed responsibility. The perpetrators, Christophe Arcini and Michel Lajoye, were imprisoned. Lajoye, who is detained in Ensisheim (68), is a very active letter-writer and corresponds with many militant extremists; On 19 December 1988, in Cagnes-sur-Mer (06), a bomb was thrown into the Sonacotra hostel (1 dead, 12 injured). The “Massada” group claimed responsibility. The perpetrators, who are members of the French and European