Overview of Terrorism in France

In 2015, in the heart of Paris, France discovered that it could be the target of coordinated and simultaneous attacks. Since then, successful or foiled attacks have multiplied on French soil, in Europe, and abroad against French interests.

On May 12, 2018, the capital was once again struck by a knife attack, leaving one person dead and four injured.

A look back at five years of terrorism in France

2014–2018: Four years of terrorist threats in France

This attack occurred while France was living under a constant terrorist threat. The previous deadly attack, on March 23 in Carcassonne and Trèbes, in the Aude department, had brought the number of victims killed in attacks on French soil since 2015 to 245.

Since the beginning of the Syrian uprising in March 2011, French counterterrorism services have identified no fewer than 78 planned attacks in mainland France. Of these 78 attack plots, 50 were foiled, 17 failed, and 11 were carried out.

Law enforcement as the terrorists’ preferred target, civilians as immense collateral damage

Of the 28 failed or successful attacks, law enforcement officers were the number one target of terrorists, with 19 attacks. Eleven targeted civilians, and four targeted religious communities. However, the casualty figures from successful attacks reveal a very different reality. Of the 245 victims killed in these attacks, 233 were civilians.

Terrorist organizations “justify” these attacks as retaliation for France’s military operations and its role at the heart of the international coalition. Beyond the targeting of law enforcement, the attacks have struck mixed, diverse, and young populations in entertainment venues.

A terrorist threat that has evolved

The most recent attacks committed on French soil have been isolated acts carried out by individuals residing in France. Terrorism in France, but also in Europe, is undergoing a transformation, making attack plots much more difficult to prevent. The organization is in a transitional phase, creating a continuous threat that is both internal and external.

To confront this threat, authorities are trying to identify these individuals at varying levels of radicalization. There are said to be 20,000 of them in France, including 323 jihadists who have returned from Syria or Iraq.

Other political responses to terrorism and radicalization have included, on the one hand, the declaration of a state of emergency, and on the other, the implementation of Operation Sentinelle, mobilizing 7,000 soldiers as part of the Vigipirate security plan.