The Committee of Inquiry into the organisation and resources of government departments to address the evolving terrorist threat following the collapse of the Islamic State, chaired by Mr Bernard Cazeau (LaREM – Dordogne), with Ms Sylvie Goy-Chavent (UC – Ain) as rapporteur, has adopted its report.
He makes three observations:
- The terrorist threat remains at a very high level in France despite the military setbacks suffered by ISIS in Syria and Iraq; this threat is primarily domestic in nature, with acts of violence inspired by jihadist propaganda;
- This terrorist threat has led the authorities to strengthen anti-terrorism measures: mobilising the intelligence services, increasing budgetary and legal resources, adapting the criminal justice response, expanding European and international cooperation, and developing preventive measures;
- However, serious concerns remain, in particular the influence of Salafism and Islamist radicalism, the prison service’s uncertainty regarding how to manage radicalised prisoners, the difficulties in combating jihadist propaganda online, and the limitations of the government’s prevention plans.
Against this background, the commission of inquiry has drawn up 63 proposals covering various areas (intelligence, information-sharing, the judicial system, criminal law, the prison system, the supervision of minors, international cooperation, prevention and resources) and aimed at improving the fight against terrorism.
Ten of these proposals strike him as being particularly important:
- to set up, in each department, a unit to combat radical Islam in order to better counter communalism and the pervasive influence of religion in certain neighbourhoods;
- make greater use of the option to deport radicalised foreign nationals on the ‘S’ list;
- to make mayors full participants in intelligence work, in particular by inviting them to meetings of the departmental assessment groups (GED) and by giving them access to the list of individuals on the register of persons flagged for the prevention of terrorist radicalisation (FSPRT) who are resident in their municipality;
- to include those prisoners convicted of common law offences who are most deeply involved in a process of radicalisation within the Radicalisation Assessment Units (QER) scheme;
- to apply to dual nationals detained on terrorism charges (TIS) the provision of the Civil Code allowing for the revocation of French nationality from dual nationals who have committed acts of terrorism;
- to provide long-term support for minors, at least until they reach the age of majority returnees who are currently receiving dual social and judicial support;
- to extend the remit of the future European Public Prosecutor’s Office to cover terrorism;
- to reaffirm the values of the Republic and mobilise our entire legal arsenal to combat the disturbances to public order that Salafism may cause (such as banning the niqab in public spaces or closing places of worship that incite violence or discrimination);
- to include Salafism on Miviludes’ list of sectarian aberrations;
- to call on the Islamic community in France to organise itself more effectively and to manage its finances in a more transparent manner.
The committee of inquiry, set up in January 2018 on the initiative of the Union Centriste group, heard evidence from 49 prominent figures during 32 hearings and undertook four field visits.