You had to pick the bar you had your breakfast in with care this morning in the French Basque country. Police combed several establishments suspected of illegally helping to fund ETA.

Two suspected members of the group listed as a terrorist organisation by the EU and US were arrested along with six other people. One of these is a senior figure in Batasuna, the Basque separatist party. It is accused by Madrid of being ETA’s political wing, and was outlawed in Spain in 2003.

However the French have until now insisted they have no evidence that Batasuna’s French branch has been involved in illegal funding, so it is allowed to operate.

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