A French couple went on trial on Thursday, accused of planning to “sacrifice” their five-year-old son in the Moroccan desert, accusations they have strongly denied.

The two music teachers were arrested in southern Spain in late 2023 as they were about to board a ferry to Morocco after buying a new four-wheel-drive and subletting their apartment near the French city of Bordeaux.

An alarmed relative had told French prosecutors that the father intended to “sacrifice” his son in the desert because he believed he was “possessed”, the investigation showed.

The father, Florian L, denies ever having said that, his lawyer Audrey Boussillon said.

“Never did he have the intention to harm his son in any way,” she added.

The couple, who hold “anti-system” and “mystical” beliefs, vehemently reject the charges of being part of a criminal gang and failing in their duties as parents, their defence team has said.

The attorney for the mother, Marie L, Aurelie Filippi-Codaccioni, said the couple had been to Morocco two years earlier and had wanted to return for an undetermined period.

But Merlene Labadie, a lawyer representing the interests of the child, said the couple’s beliefs endangered their son, who spoke of the importance of “being cold, scared and removing the snake within us” when found.

He is now in the custody of his maternal grandparents, she said.

The trial is to last a single day and the verdict will likely be announced at a later date.