France detains ex-members of Red Brigades sought by Italy Issued on: 28/04/2021 - 13:24 The Red Brigades were the most notorious ultra-left group to sow chaos in Italy during the "Years of Lead" - AFP/File 4 min Paris (AFP) France on Wednesday detained seven former members of left-wing Italian extremist group the Red Brigades in what was billed as a diplomatic olive branch by President Emmanuel Macron. France has long served as a haven for Red Brigades figures from the 1970s and 80s under a policy set by former Socialist leader Francois Mitterrand, which has caused tensions with Rome. The so-called "Mitterrand Doctrine", adopted in 1985, offered asylum to the extremists providing they renounced violence and were not wanted in Italy for murder or other "crimes of blood."