WASHINGTON: The eight men involved in the terror attacks last night in Paris have not yet been identified, but tentative reports say that they were a mix of nationalities, with at least one of them being French.
President Francois Hollande hinted at his suspicions about a domestic connection in a speech Saturday. "This is an act of war that was prepared, organized, and planned from the outside, with complicity from the inside that the investigation will establish," he said.
France, more so than any other country in Europe, has been struggling with radicalization within its borders. It's estimated that France has sent more fighters to Syria and Iraq than any other European country, as data from the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence shows.
According to these figures, France is responsible for sending between a third to half of all the radicalized fighters from Europe that have made their way to the war zones in the Middle East. Some of them -- perhaps 200, according to AFP earlier this year -- have returned to France where there are fears they will help organize domestic attacks.
For instance, the government this year has released a series of anti-radicalization videos on social media, where young jihadi fighters are often recruited.
Another campaign launched last month features interviews with the family members of people who left France to fight in Syria or Iraq. "She was looking for a better world, but I think she found hell." says Baptiste, whose daughter ran away when she was 17, according to the video. "They stole our child."
President Francois Hollande hinted at his suspicions about a domestic connection in a speech Saturday. "This is an act of war that was prepared, organized, and planned from the outside, with complicity from the inside that the investigation will establish," he said.
France, more so than any other country in Europe, has been struggling with radicalization within its borders. It's estimated that France has sent more fighters to Syria and Iraq than any other European country, as data from the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence shows.
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According to these figures, France is responsible for sending between a third to half of all the radicalized fighters from Europe that have made their way to the war zones in the Middle East. Some of them -- perhaps 200, according to AFP earlier this year -- have returned to France where there are fears they will help organize domestic attacks.
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For instance, the government this year has released a series of anti-radicalization videos on social media, where young jihadi fighters are often recruited.
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Another campaign launched last month features interviews with the family members of people who left France to fight in Syria or Iraq. "She was looking for a better world, but I think she found hell." says Baptiste, whose daughter ran away when she was 17, according to the video. "They stole our child."
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