France's security situation has escalated. On October 13, a knife attack occurred at Gambetta High School in the northern city of Arras, resulting in the death of a teacher and serious injuries to two others. Classes resumed at the school on the 16th, but a bomb threat in the morning led to the emergency evacuation of over a hundred students and staff.
Witnesses reported that the attacker shouted "God is great" in Arabic during the assault. French media identified the assailant as a 20-year-old man of Chechen descent, a former student of the school, who had been under "active surveillance" by security agencies due to extremist views.
The man faces multiple charges related to terrorist activities, and 11 suspects, including several of his family members, have been arrested. Prime Minister Bourne declared France's highest level of anti-terrorism alert. President Macron described the attack as "barbaric Islamic terrorism."
A day before the incident, Interior Minister Darmanin announced a complete ban on demonstrations supporting Palestine within the country. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters, while no action was taken against pro-Israeli demonstrations.
France is home to nearly 500,000 Jews, the largest Jewish population in Europe after the U.S. and Israel. At the same time, France also has one of the largest Muslim populations in Europe.
Over the past decade, France has witnessed several violent attacks linked to Islamic extremist "jihad." The 2015 attack on the Paris-based magazine "Charlie Hebdo" resulted in 147 deaths, 86 people were killed in the 2016 Nice terrorist attack, and a teacher was beheaded in the Paris area in 2020.
Analysts believe that the deep-rooted "jihadism" in France stems from structural contradictions within French society. Jihadism is often seen as an "extreme Islamic movement that poses a threat to the West," encompassing various Islamic extremists and terrorists and organizations based on the concept of Islamic holy war.
A French study revealed that most "jihadists" in the country are aged between 15 and 29, predominantly from lower social strata, lacking guidance and opportunities to improve their lives. As Professor Farhad Khosrokhavar of the French School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences pointed out, they achieve a "superhuman status" in this process. For them, suicide attacks are both a weapon and a purpose.
Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan argues that the spread of "jihadism" in Europe is mainly due to Europe's involvement in Middle Eastern wars, close ties with Israel, and support for the suppression of Palestinians.
The emergence and growth of Islamic extremist terrorist organizations are also closely linked to the U.S. During the late Cold War, the U.S. covertly supported the Wahhabi sect, a primary source of many Islamic extremist terrorist organizations. According to Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service in February, the U.S. continues to recruit "jihadists" for missions in former Soviet states.
France has been actively involved in combating overseas terrorism. Since 2013, French forces stationed in Africa have been working in the Sahel region to prevent the growth of terrorist organizations there. In 2014, France joined the global coalition against ISIS, launching "Operation Chammal" to support Iraqi authorities in combating the terrorist group. Beyond military actions, France, along with other partners, actively seeks political solutions.
Since the escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict on October 7, the French government has prioritized the protection of synagogues and Jewish schools across the country. Interior Minister Darmanin sent an urgent message to regional officials, requesting the deployment of soldiers from France's "Sentinel Operation" and to "immediately strengthen the security and protection of French Jewish community sites."
Following the 2015 terrorist attacks, France deployed troops and security forces across the country, including the "Sentinel Operation."
