“We thwart a lot of attacks in France, one every two months,” said Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin on Monday evening when he was a guest on France 2 news. After Friday’s attack which at least 137 dead in a concert hall in the suburbs of Moscow, Russia, and claimed by the Islamic State, the Minister of the Interior returned to the terrorist threat weighing on France.
“The threat is very high and we must arm ourselves against this threat. It affects all of Europe and all of the West,” he explained. “We foil a lot of attacks in France, one every two months. We have foiled 14 attacks since 2020. […] We have never foiled so many attacks as today in France. »
A threat from within and without
While the Vigipirate plan was raised to its maximum level in France after the Moscow attack, the Minister of the Interior spoke of an “endogenous threat (…) and an exogenous threat” in France. “The Islamic State is the author of the last eight foiled attacks in France,” said the minister. The Islamic State is now capable of launching attacks remotely. »
Gérald Darmanin recalled that 1,040 people on S file had been deported to France since 2020.