Years of Lead is an European phenomenon not unrelated to the Cold War, characterized by left and right-wing terrorism and the strategy of tension. Some terrorist groups include the German Red Army Faction, and the French Action Directe. In Belgium, the années de plomb or "Bloody Eighties", refers to the Brabant massacres which resulted in 28 deaths. The far-right movement Westland New Post (WNP) has been suspected in this campaign. Attacks by the Communist Combatant Cells, a short-lived group, killed two. Many of the right-wing groups involved have been linked to Operation Gladio.
French Les années de plomb, Italian Anni di piombo, and Portuguese Anos de chumbo, all meaning Years of Lead, are also the French, Italian and Portuguese titles of the 1981 West German film Die bleierne Zeit (literally: The Period of Lead) about the RAF period in Germany (English titles: The German Sisters (UK); Marianne and Juliane (USA)).