Why France should worry about its jihadist hopefuls
France, which has more citizens fighting with Islamic militants in Syria and Iraq than any other EU country, imposes travel restrictions on jihadist hopefuls and tries to "de-radicalize" Muslim girls seeking to join the Islamic State.
As of Nov. 6, some 1,100 French nationals and residents aged 20 to 30 were officially “involved in jihadist activities in Syria and Iraq.” About 400 are currently on the ground, including 60 noncombatant women, while the rest are either seeking to reach one of the two countries, or on their way back to France, according to Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. Up to 90% are believed to have joined the Islamic State (IS). The rest are either fighting alongside or providing logistical support to smaller groups affiliated to al-Qaeda.
The number of French waging jihad has more than doubled since April 2014. In March 2013, there were only 50 French jihadists, mostly fighting in Syria. What is even more troubling is that France provides the largest number of jihadists of all the Western countries, so much so that one in three Westerners fighting in Iraq and Syria is believed to be French.
Why are so many French drawn to jihad?
First, one needs to look at those numbers in proportion to France’s total population. Relative to its population, France actually comes in third in providing militants, behind Belgium and Denmark. What's disturbing, though, is that this number has been continuously soaring since 2013. France has the largest Muslim population in Europe, estimated at about 4 million. But this alone cannot provide an explanation, as a good quarter of French jihadists are recent converts.
