Following Eric Ciotti’s resolution proposal, the National Assembly has just approved the establishment of a parliamentary inquiry commission on monitoring jihadist networks and individuals.
The representative from the Côte d’Azur, increasingly seen as a future Minister of the Interior, explains the reason: “Our country is facing terrorism that is constantly evolving. This terrorist threat is not new, but its scale and form are unprecedented.”
His analysis of this problem is comprehensive and detailed, as is his perfect understanding of the issues.
“The crises shaking the Middle East provide new fertile ground for terrorism and are an additional source of concern. The Syrian conflict has changed the situation: jihad has almost become commonplace, and the French have become the largest contingent of jihadists, among nearly 3,000 Europeans in this country.
Unfortunately, in the face of this new phenomenon, our strategy to combat terrorist violence seems no longer fully adequate.
The General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) is understandably very concerned about all these ‘Medhi Nemmouches in the making,’ who could potentially bring the conflict opposing the Islamic State (IS) to existing regimes in Syria and Iraq onto French soil. The risk is significant, as the flow of French people concerned by this jihad is estimated to be at least nine hundred.
We must therefore act decisively to face this unprecedented threat, which poses a real challenge to our institutions. The war against terrorism requires transcending political divides and calls for national unity.
The draft law reinforcing measures against terrorism, adopted in the first reading by the National Assembly on September 18, last year, has strengthened our legislative arsenal in the fight against terrorism, but not enough. Indeed, this text is, for example, silent on the issue of the return to France of individuals who left to join the jihad from our territory and who present clear risks of radicalization and carrying out terrorist acts.
In this regard, the recent confusion surrounding three French nationals presumed to be jihadists and claimed to have been arrested upon their return from Turkey by the Interior Ministry, only to be later described as ‘at large’ in France by their lawyers, provides a striking example of the gaps in our means of action regarding the return of these individuals, who are as many ticking time bombs, endangering our citizens.
Given the situation facing France, it seems necessary and urgent […] to assess the effectiveness of monitoring and surveillance measures for individuals intending to join jihad or returning from it, as well as the recruitment and return aid networks they may use.
The commission will, in particular, study any shortcomings in our anti-jihadist control systems, the functioning of the Chéops filing system within the police, gendarmerie, and border police; the missions assigned to the agents responsible for security cooperation in our embassies and posts abroad. This inquiry commission will also aim to review police cooperation within Europe, both inside and outside the Schengen area, but also with non-EU key countries, such as Turkey.”
