With rumours spreading that he was to be arrested, Kühnen fled to Paris in early 1984 and sought refuge with the neo-Nazi group Fédération d'action nationale et européenne (FANE), with whom he had previously established contacts. Whilst working with FANE, he visited Spain and met with Léon Degrelle, establishing relations with the former Waffen-SS man who had become a central player in the Spanish Circle of Friends of Europe (CEDADE). Kühnen was arrested in Paris and extradited to Germany to face trial on a number of charges related to neo-Nazism. He was sentenced to a further four years in prison.