  The existence of strong lensing systems with Einstein radii (Re) covering the
full mass spectrum, from ~1-2" (produced by galaxy scale dark matter haloes) to
>10" (produced by galaxy cluster scale haloes) have long been predicted. Many
lenses with Re around 1-2" and above 10" have been reported but very few in
between. In this article, we present a sample of 13 strong lensing systems with
Re in the range 3"- 8", i.e. systems produced by galaxy group scale dark matter
haloes, spanning a redshift range from 0.3 to 0.8. This opens a new window of
exploration in the mass spectrum, around 10^{13}- 10^{14} M_{sun}, which is a
crucial range for understanding the transition between galaxies and galaxy
clusters. Our analysis is based on multi-colour CFHTLS images complemented with
HST imaging and ground based spectroscopy. Large scale properties are derived
from both the light distribution of the elliptical galaxies group members and
weak lensing of the faint background galaxy population. On small scales, the
strong lensing analysis yields Einstein radii between 2.5" and 8". On larger
scales, the strong lenses coincide with the peak of the light distribution,
suggesting that mass is traced by light. Most of the luminosity maps have
complicated shapes, indicating that these intermediate mass structures are
dynamically young. Fitting the reduced shear with a Singular Isothermal Sphere,
we find sigma ~ 500 km/s and an upper limit of ~900 km/s for the whole sample.
The mass to light ratio for the sample is found to be M/L_i ~ 250 (solar units,
corrected for evolution), with an upper limit of 500. This can be compared to
mass to light ratios of small groups (with sigma ~ 300 km/s and galaxy clusters
with sigma > 1000 km/s, thus bridging the gap between these mass scales.
