05/04/2026
**The Athanor Affair.**
You’ve probably seen the headlines by now: Freemasons allegedly using their lodge as a criminal network to order hits on people who got in the way of their business interests.
And of course, the media loves that kind of story.
Freemasons, secrecy, murder plots, shady dealings… it is the perfect recipe for sensational headlines, especially for a public that still imagines Freemasonry as some kind of dark and corrupt influence network.
But let’s slow down for a second.
Let’s not get carried away by tabloid-style coverage.
Let’s look at what this case actually is.
Because first and foremost, this is not the story of Freemasonry.
It is the story of two men: Daniel, a retired officer from French intelligence, and Frédéric, a businessman in the private security industry.
Before they arrived, Athanor was by all accounts a perfectly ordinary lodge.
It worked in the Scottish Rite, like many others.
It stood for the usual Masonic values: fraternity, mutual support, moral improvement.
And symbolically, the word *Athanor* refers to the alchemist’s furnace — the vessel of inner transformation.
According to the accusations, Daniel and Frédéric met in that lodge and then built a clandestine criminal operation together.
Frédéric allegedly passed on murder contracts through his network, and Daniel allegedly used his former status as a police officer to recruit private operatives, making them believe they were acting on behalf of the state.
There were reportedly several targets:
an amateur pilot who owed money and was killed,
a union representative who had become inconvenient,
a local elected official who was threatened,
a gay couple who were assaulted,
and a business coach who was attacked because she was causing problems for a competitor.
And that competitor, Jean-Luc, was also a Freemason from the Athanor lodge.
Now let’s be clear: this story is appalling.
And yes, it unfairly stains the image of Freemasons in France.
But it is still not the story of Freemasonry.
It is the story of Daniel, Frédéric, and Jean-Luc.
In fact, Masonic justice acted before the civil courts did.
