France escalates security in anticipation of new stabbings

Nahla Abdel Moneim

In light of the global corona virus pandemic and the occupation of states in limiting its negative effects, terrorist groups have been actively exploiting the organizational confusion of countries to achieve their goals in strategic areas. On this basis, France announced that it is continuing to escalate the efforts of the security services against terrorist elements.

French newspapers published statements on April 19 from the head of France’s General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI), Nicholas Lerner, that the security services decided to take the utmost care to deal with the terrorist file after they detected cyber communications between terrorist elements and found an arsenal of sharp weapons, including knives, after inspecting three homes whose residents were linked to radical Islamist groups.

Security escalation

France’s security escalation comes in the wake of the April 4 stabbing incident in the Romans-sur-Isère region in southeastern France by a 33-year-old Sudanese migrant, leaving two dead and two seriously injured. As a result of the investigation that followed, the authorities arrested other Sudanese migrants connected with the first suspect. This was part of a terrorist network that held takfirist views against European countries and their citizens and therefore promoted their bloodshed.

As a result, the French authorities have realized that the proliferation of the corona pandemic and the world’s preoccupation with fighting it have created a loophole for terrorist groups to be able to carry out operations and intensify their activities and communications with lone wolves.

Light weapons

The recent incident and the findings of the authorities in their counterterrorist security campaigns show that the terrorist elements resorted to cheap tools and light weapons to carry out the attacks. This was for several reasons, the most important of which is the low cost due to the possible lack of funding, in addition to half the world being shut down, which undermines their ability to purchase chemicals for making bombs, as purchasing these materials at the present moment would raise suspicions due to the world’s general focus on food and basic needs.

Terrorists also lack the ability to use vehicles to carry out attacks as a result of roads being disrupted and the European curfew imposed. This currently makes light sharp materials one of the most effective means of carrying out attacks, as they can easily be used in areas where people gather to buy food, as happened in the recent attack at a meat store.

This shows how terrorist groups have adapted to the current situation and indicates the intensity and ease of communications between elements as a direct result of governments’ preoccupation with solving the corona crisis. This poses the risk that lone wolves will return again to Europe, especially France, which is targeting both ISIS and al-Qaeda.

France ranked second after the UK in the number of terrorist operations in the European Union, and 36^th globally, despite its efforts to combat terrorism, according to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2019.