It has now been two months since the trial for the story of the Paris attacks of November 13, 2015 began. Last week, it was the former President of the Republic François Hollande who testified before the court. For four hours, he detailed the reasons for the armed intervention in Syria, the extent of the terrorist threat that weighed on France in 2015 as well as the efforts undertaken to avoid deadly attacks. If his testimony was extremely publicized, it is those of the survivors and the families of the victims who will have had the most impact on this extraordinary trial. These hundreds of civil parties succeeded each other throughout the month of October at the helm of the special assize court to describe the indescribable. Their heartbreaking testimonies plunged the corridors of the courthouse, usually so noisy, into a heavy silence.
How to remain impassive before the tears of these parents who have lost their children, of these children who have lost their parents, of these young people who have lost their friends, their carelessness, their joie de vivre. And how not to be admiring in front of the resilience, the combativeness and the courage of these people who, rather than sending messages of hatred to the accused, praised the rule of law, justice and the French art of living in the face of to religious obscurantism.
This trial and the anniversary of the attacks last week raise the question of the extent of the terrorist threat today in France and in the European Union. Although large-scale attacks have decreased significantly in recent years, the terrorist threat remains very much present. According to the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, “anything can happen”, especially in the context of this highly publicized trial. Indeed, the latter can be a trigger for a certain number of radicalized individuals during the pandemic and successive confinements. These “lone wolves” do not always belong to “official” structures like those of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) but nevertheless represent a great threat for countries like France, because the difficulty of thwarting their attacks. Recent events in England and Norway as well as the assassination of Samuel Paty last year bear witness to this.
However, if at present the threat seems to come almost exclusively from these solitary individuals, the return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan could be accompanied by a new rise of IS and Al-Qaeda. These two organizations could indeed find an operational space allowing them to plan, prepare and execute more coordinated and more deadly attacks on European soil. It is therefore imperative to remain vigilant and alert to this potential resurgence of terrorism. The role of digital platforms is, on this point, crucial.
Digital platforms such as Facebook, Google, Telegram are a springboard for terrorists who, for many years, were able to coordinate and organize their attacks freely. The lack or even the total absence of content control on the part of social networks is quite open to criticism. Platforms have a duty of vigilance with regard to the messages of hatred and terrorism disseminated. However, it is obvious that they facilitate, on the contrary, the radicalization and dissemination of the propaganda of terrorist groups. It is therefore imperative that these platforms take their responsibilities.
In addition, the attacks of November 13 as well as those in Nice and Charlie Hebdo not only bruised France but also had a profound impact on French society and law. The state of emergency introduced the day after the Paris attacks and extended six times, no doubt necessary given the extent of the terrorist threat at that time, considerably restricted individual freedoms. Some measures provided for in this special law have even been transposed into common law with the Law strengthening internal security and the fight against terrorism of 2017.
More recently, a law aimed at reinforcing the principles of the Republic has been promulgated. Following the appalling assassination of Samuel Paty, it modifies the law on worship in order to protect more fully public service agents, fight against religious separatism, while providing for severe penalties in the face of the rise of hatred in line.
If these measures are necessary to prevent terrorist attacks and the radicalization of French people, it is necessary to ensure that we do not carry a disproportionate attack on the same freedoms that we wish to defend. On this point, if the hosts agreed to participate in the defense systems of the States (which they did not do and still do not do as demonstrated by the recent testimony of the Facebook whistleblower), many restrictions put in place after the terrorist attacks could have been avoided.
The trial of the attacks of November 13 will go down in history in view of its duration, the number of civil parties present and the unprecedented stake. While the defendants can be expected to receive the maximum sentence for causing or contributing to the deaths of 130 innocent people, the current terrorist threat should not be underestimated. We must remain extremely vigilant and continue to mobilize our efforts to contain it and prevent the radicalization of our fellow citizens.
*Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler is the Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), an international non-profit organization that combats the growing threat of terrorism and extremist ideology and former Coordinator of the Daesh Monitoring Team , Al-Qaeda and the Taliban of the UN Security Council.