Yves Langlois

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Yves Langlois, a.k.a. Pierre Seguin (born 1947) was a member of the Quebec terrorist group calling themselves the Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ) that was responsible for a decade of bombings and other terrorist operations during the 1960s in the Canadian Province of Quebec.

Langlois was arrested in France for possession of illegal firearms and served 2 years in a French prison, where it is believed he learned the skills he later used in bomb-making and kidnapping. In August 1970, he and other terrorists from Québec traveled to Jordan to train with Palestinian commandos. At the same time, members of their group in Montréal announced they would begin a policy of "selective assassination."

Langlois was a member of the Liberation Cell of the FLQ that kidnapped James Cross, the British Trade Commissioner to Canada, triggering the 1970 October Crisis. Their action was part of an attempt to overthrow the elected government and to establish a socialist Québec state independent of Canada. On October 10, members of the Chenier Cell kidnapped and then murdered Québec Deputy Premier and Cabinet Minister, Pierre Laporte. Believing many others would follow in an uprising, the goal of the FLQ terrorists was to create an independent state based on the ideals of Fidel Castro's Cuba.

Langlois and his Liberation Cell threatened to execute Cross, making demands that included money and the release of other convicted terrorists. The kidnappers eventually negotiated Cross's release without achieving any of their goals except safe passage out of Canada for themselves: Langlois and four others were granted refuge in Cuba. However, in 1974, a report from the Canadian embassy in Paris, France, indicated that Langlois was living in Paris.

Langlois returned to Québec in June 1982. He was arrested and charged for his crimes and on September 27, 1982 he was sentenced to two years in prison less one day for his part in the kidnapping of James Cross. On July 19, 1983—less than one year later—he was released on parole.