1996 Paris RER bombing

{{Infobox civilian attack

| title = 1996 Paris RER bombing

| image = Gare de Port-Royal, plaque fleurie attentat 1996.JPG

| caption = A memorial to the victims (2014)

| location = Port-Royal station in Paris, France

| target = RER passengers

| map =

| coordinates = {{coord|48|50|23.55|N|2|20|13.34|E}}

| date = {{start date and age|1996|12|3|df=y}}

| time =

| type = Bombing

| fatalities = 4

| injuries = 91

| perps = Unknown, GIA suspected

| weapons = Improvised explosive device

}}

On 3 December 1996 an IED detonated on the southbound tracks of the Port-Royal Réseau Express Régional (RER) station in Paris, France. Four people were killed in the bombing:{{cite news|title=Subway Bomb In Paris Kills Two|agency=AP|work=Lodi News-Sentinel|date=3 December 1996}}{{cite news|last1=Dahlburg|first1=John-Thor|title=Bomb Planted on Paris Train Kills 2, Hurts 85|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-12-04-mn-5530-story.html|access-date=17 November 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=4 December 1996}}[https://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0107/670948-france-attacks-timeline/ Paris attack France's deadliest in decades]{{cite news|last1=Whitney|first1=Craig|title=2 Die as Terrorist Bomb Rips Train at a Paris Station|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/04/world/2-die-as-terrorist-bomb-rips-train-at-a-paris-station.html|accessdate=17 November 2015|work=The New York Times|date=4 December 1996}} two French citizens, a Moroccan and a Canadian.{{cite book|author=Charles P. Nemeth|title=Homeland Security: An Introduction to Principles and Practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fQTMBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA457|date=23 March 2011|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4200-8568-6|page=457}}

Following the bombing, French officials activated the "Vigipirate" nationwide security plan drawn up a year earlier in the wake of a series of bombings by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA). The plan included police and army patrols in sensitive public areas and spot checks across the country.{{cite web | title=French officials say bomb caused deadly train blast- Dec. 3, 1996 | website=CNN.com | date=1996-12-03 | url=http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9612/03/subway.explosion/ | accessdate=2015-11-18}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.news.com.au/world/europe/why-france-has-become-the-epicentre-of-terror-attacks-in-europe/news-story/f2871447984f127e0e060ab9f1731d10|title = Terror has returned to the streets of France|date = 15 July 2016}}

Jean-Louis Bruguière and Jean-François Ricard were in charge of the bombing file.{{Cite web|url=http://www.justice.gouv.fr/le-ministere-de-la-justice-10017/jean-francois-ricard-a-la-tete-du-parquet-national-antiterroriste-32530.html|title=Jean-François Ricard à la tête du Parquet national antiterroriste|website=justice.gouv.fr|date=4 July 2019}} No group took responsibility for the attack, but the GIA was suspected of being behind the attack.{{cite book|author=Marc Sageman|title=Confronting Al-Qaeda: Understanding the Threat in Afghanistan and Beyond: Congressional Testimony|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tv3xPY4kwUkC|date=October 2010|publisher=DIANE Publishing|isbn=978-1-4379-2774-0|page=13}} However, unlike this bombing, the group had claimed all the bombings in the campaign.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/04/world/2-die-as-terrorist-bomb-rips-train-at-a-paris-station.html|title=2 Die as Terrorist Bomb Rips Train at a Paris Station|last=Whitney|first=Craig R.|date=1996-12-04|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-04-13|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}