De-Radicalisation and Integration: Legal & Policy Framework

France/D4 Country Report December 2021

Abstract

France has a decades-long record of developing mechanisms of counterterrorism and intelligence in its struggle against various forms of violent extremism. It is however relatively new to the field of (de)radicalisation. The first comprehensive, non-security-based reforms addressing political violence appeared only in 2013, considerably later than in other countries dealing with similar threats, such as the United States or the UK. The policies and subsequent legislative initiatives were triggered first by the 2013 series of shootings targeting French soldiers and a Jewish school, committed by Mohammed Merrah, a jihadist radical, and then took a form of utmost urgency after the emblematic series of jihadist attacks in January and November 2015. Since then, France has been constantly upgrading its arsenal of counterterrorist efforts and expanding the scope and variety of its deradicalisation measures, albeit directing them, almost exclusively, against jihadist violence and radicalisation.
In what follows, we trace the main reforms introduced by the French government in response to the rise of political extremism, point to the shortcomings of their narrow focus on jihadist violence, and analyse their impact on the French constitutional structure, legislative framework, policymaking, and social fabric. This report begins with a short overview of the socio-economic, political and cultural context of radicalisation in France. The overview touches upon issues of political polarisation; immigration and the French policy of integration towards migrants; the principle of laïcité [secularism] and its implementation in the context of jihadist radicalisation; inequality and social protests; and finally, provides a brief history of extremist violence in France.