French prosecutors told a court in Paris on Monday that eight men accused of carrying out armed robberies were raising money to finance Islamic terrorists.
The eight are charged with one count of armed robbery and another failed robbery attempt in the Paris area in 2004 and 2005.
Prosecutors said the eight, who include French and North Africans, had contacted extremists linked to al-Qaida in Syria, Algeria and Turkey.
The men allegedly formed their connection in prison where they had been serving time for previous offenses.
Olivier Combe, a lawyer for one of the defendants, told French radio that while the men knew each other and shared religious beliefs, they did not have any links to terrorism.
One of the accused, 36-year-old French-Algerian Ouassini Cherifi, allegedly led a criminal gang that operated out of his restaurant in a Paris suburb.
Cherifi was previously convicted and sentenced for trafficking false passports to radical Islamist groups.