France: Europe’s Terrorist Target
Why has France become the capital of terrorism in Europe?
France has the majority of the Muslim population in Europe, but these Muslims were not well-integrated into French society. This is while they are discriminated against and this issue has led to the creation of extremism among Muslims. Therefore, this is one of the roots of extremism and terrorist measures in France. The other point is the alignment of France’s foreign policy with movements which enflame extremism and terrorism. This alignment is done within the framework of financial and spiritual supports. For example, France’s close relations with the Persian Gulf littoral states including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, which, based on the existing documents, support extremist movements, has created a contradiction in France about whether Paris really intends to resolve its internal security issues and if so why it pursues such a path. France should have, at least, used its close relations with the Persian Gulf littoral states in a way which could either convince them to stop their support of terrorist groups or review its relations with these countries. On the other hand, France was the leader in the downfall of the Qaddafi regime. Libya was a country which prior to the downfall of Qaddafi was relatively stable. It has now become a safe haven for terrorists. These terrorists instigate others to take violent measures. A considerable number of French, whether Muslim or Christian, are moving towards Syria to join these terrorist groups. On the other hand, among those who oppose the Syrian government and are supported by France, many have radical ideologies.
France today is very different from the France of decades ago. France opposed the US and Britain’s aggression against Iraq during Chirac’s presidency. But today France cooperates with the US and Britain’s attacks. It seems that since long the French officials have been distanced from Gaullist policies (independence from Britain and US) and joined Anglo-Saxon policies which are opposed in France. In fact, France’s support of the Atlantist thought (British-American) causes violence in France. To what extent could this issue prepare the ground for terrorism in France?
Since Sarkozy’s presidency, France has changed its foreign policy. Sarkozy believed that France’s past policies which were pursued independently from the US and Britain had made this country passive in the scene of foreign policy and prevented Paris from playing a role in international affairs. This issue could be one of the causes which has turned France into the target for terrorist groups. This is while the measures taken by Chirac in support of the Palestinian movements and Arabs made him a popular figure in the Arab world. But today the situation has changed.
Has the weakness and failure of the socialist and leftist parties caused the emergence of the rightist parties and the growing racist sentiments in the establishment of violence in the French society?
One of the reasons behind the emergence of the radical rightist parties in France is the economic crisis and unemployment. The radical rightist movements use the immigrants, the majority of whom are Muslims, as shields and introduce them as the main cause of unemployment and crime. On the other hand, considering the failure in the slogans of both the Socialist and the UMP party, which was in power before, based on the improvement of people’s economic lives and the reduction of unemployment, mistrust has been created among the people with regard to both parties and some people have turned to the leaders of the rightist groups. They believe that the leaders of the rightist party make new statements and present themselves to be different from the ruling political elites. Since the radical rightist groups have racist and anti-immigration and anti-Islam inclinations, conflicts have been created between the Muslim and non-Muslim population of this country.
To what extent has the imposition of the US and Britain’s political ideas on France’s foreign policy based on the statement that “we should take war into their own countries so that Europe would remain safe” and also France’s strategic mistake in its approach towards this policy caused the return of terrorism and terrorist measures to this country?
The change that was made in France’s foreign policy during Sarkozy’s presidency and was continued by Hollande showed that Paris is more in line with the US and the Atlantic powers like Britain. This alignment has had certain costs for France in its internal security. Considering the fact that the majority of the immigrants are Muslims, measures taken by this country could instigate Muslims’ sentiments and also internal threats in this country could prepare the ground for potential threats against the internal security of France.