Escalation 1994–1996 Massacres and reconciliation 1996–1999 Defeat of the GIA 1999–2002 A series of attacks targeted public transport systems in Paris and Lyon, as well as a school in Villeurbanne, in 1995.

The assassination of Abdelbaki Sahraoui, a co-founder of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), was a prelude to the extension of the Islamists' terrorist campaign in France.

[6] The wanted suspect, Khaled Kelkal, was killed on 29 September by members of the French EPIGN gendarmerie unit near Lyon as he resisted arrest.

[7] Nonetheless, the attacks continued on 6 October, the day of Khaled Kelkal's funeral; another gas bottle exploded in the Maison Blanche station of the Paris Métro, wounding twelve people.

The next day, a statement from GIA commander Djamel Zitouni, written on 23 September, arrived at the Reuters press agency in Cairo.

Investigators found a transportation card on Smaïn Aït Ali Belkacem used a few minutes before the attack in a nearby underground station.

[12] According to FBI terrorism consultant Evan Kohlmann, part of the money used to finance the bombings came from people connected to the Brandbergen Mosque in Haninge, Sweden.

[15] The French government also suspended the Schengen Acquis which allows free movement across borders within Europe, keeping the restrictions in place until March 1996.