France will continue to struggle with the surge of extremism-related incidents if the country does not toughen stance on illegal migration and introduce proper legislation, experts told Sputnik, adding that while President Emmanuel Macron realizes that his re-election chances are small without stricter anti-terrorism policies, he is still not doing enough to combat the threat
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th November, 2020) France will continue to struggle with the surge of extremism-related incidents if the country does not toughen stance on illegal migration and introduce proper legislation, experts told Sputnik, adding that while President Emmanuel Macron realizes that his re-election chances are small without stricter anti-terrorism policies, he is still not doing enough to combat the threat.
Over the recent weeks, France has been swept by a massive wave of terrorist attacks that started with the brutal decapitation of French school teacher Samuel Paty by a radicalized Chechen teen in mid-October in Paris after Paty showed the cartoons of the prophet to his students. In the wake of attacks, Macron vowed to step up efforts to combat radical islam in a move that angered a number of Muslim countries, from Pakistan and Afghanistan to Morocco. In particular, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took it even further by telling his French counterpart to check his mental health and urged Muslims to boycott French products.
Within a short time after the teacher's murder, France was once again shaken by a series of attacks across the country and at its diplomatic premises abroad. The first one took place in the French city of Nice in late October and resulted in three deaths. The assailant who shouted "Allahu Akbar" during the attack, was later named Brahim Aoussaoui. He arrived from Tunisia on the Italian island of Lampedusa in September along with other migrants. Another knife-stabbing attempt occurred shortly after in Avignon, and the assailant was shot dead by security forces. It was followed by yet another incident in Lyon, as well as near the French consulate in Saudi Arabia.
Dominique Bilde, a member of the European Parliament representing East France, recalled that the recent attacks generally involved migrants or refugees.
"The link with the migratory wave that Europe and France have been experiencing since around 2015, as well as immigration in general, is therefore direct. However, [the situation is stalled] due to administrative burdens and sometimes the lack of cooperation from certain countries of origin," she told Sputnik.
According to the politician, the measures put by the French government are merely "empty words," mainly when it comes to sending the illegal migrants back to their home countries.
"As long as France does not adopt a firm and effective stance on migration, these problems will not be resolved and the risk of terrorism will persist," she told Sputnik.
She recalled that even before the beheading of Paty, a Pakistani migrant injured two people near the Charlie Hebdo editorial office. According to the prosecutors, the man had left Pakistan back in March 2018 and after having crossed Iran, Turkey and Italy, he arrived in France in August 2018. After arriving in France, the attacker provided false information about himself, as a result, he was let in as an "unaccompanied minor."
MACRON HAS FEW CHANCES FOR REELECTION IF HE DOES NOT ACT NOW
Following the deadly attacks, Macron has been announcing sets of measures to battle the terrorism threat in the country. In particular, he vowed to significantly increase France's border control within the Schengen area and to double the forces there from 2,400 to 4,800. He also said that 10,000 troops had joined the country's security forces since 2017, as envisioned by the national legislation against terrorism. Meanwhile, the authorities launched nearly 200 investigations into suspected violent extremism since Paty's killing.
Macron has also recently discussed his project aimed at fighting radical Islamism with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in a bid to establish an anti-terror alliance in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in both countries. Austria's Vienna has recently also seen a deadly spree of terrorist attacks, which resulted in four fatalities and over 20 people injured.
However, Gilles Lebreton, a member of the European Parliament from the Identity and Democracy group, believes that though Macron realizes that without tough anti-terrorism policies he could not get a chance for re-election, he is still not doing enough to confront terrorism in the country.
"President Macron ... has understood that he has no chance of being re-elected in 2022 if he does not harden his anti-terrorism policy. Hence his recent decisions to close an Islamist mosque and dissolve Islamist movements, hence also its draft law in preparation. But we will quickly see the insufficiency of its policy in this area," he told Sputnik.
ATTACKS REVEALED THAT MANY FRENCH MUSLIMS NOT ASSIMILATED IN SOCIETY
The recent terrorist attacks and the reactions to them have proven that the French society is not so solid as it seems to be, Lebreton believes.
"The reactions to these attacks revealed that part of the French Muslims is not assimilated into French society. On the other hand, we must unfortunately expect a new wave of terrorism. This is one more reason to toughen up the fight against terrorists," he said.
Both Lebreton and Bilde drew attention to the recent statements of Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Rally party who raised the issue of banishing foreigners advocating regional separatism saying it was a necessary measure. Le Pen urged the authorities to expel foreigners advocating radical Islamism from France and strip them of their French citizenship. She also suggested it was necessary to set up a commission of inquiry to investigate those responsible for failures of state agents to protect the murdered teacher. In addition, she called for legislation against radical Islamism and the implementation of a moratorium on immigration and naturalization.
"The avenues raised by Marine Le Pen regarding a reform of the nationality code, with a real possibility of forfeiture of nationality, as well as the creation of specific anti-terrorism legislation should be explored. The option of intelligence with the enemy, which already exists, must be taken into consideration," Bilde explained.
Meanwhile, France Jamet from the Identity and Democracy Group at the European Parliament also believes that it is necessary that the elected officials, executives and activists of the National Rally "speak with one voice behind" the French president.
"The time has come for cohesion, discipline and mobilization to face the worrying situation that we know and which, I am sure, we will, along with all our compatriots, be able to deal with calmly and efficiently," he told Sputnik.
