BEYOND SYRIA IRAQ

WHAT MAKES THE PROVINCES TICK?
Foreign Terrorist Fighters
■ JEAN-FRANCOIS PACTET
RAPPORTEUR’S SUMMARY
THE TOPIC OF FOREIGN fighter activity in the provinces is becoming
increasingly relevant as the Islamic State core continues to experience
major territorial setbacks. Three areas of interest must be highlighted
when framing the issue of foreign fighters in the provinces. The first is the
various emerging trends of foreign fighters coming from France; the second
is the timing of this discussion and the potential ramifications of a secured
Turkish border on the foreign fighter presence in the provinces; and the third
is the policy implications that the foreign fighters in the provinces pose for
the French and for the world at large.
It is helpful to frame the French foreign fighter issue with some basic figures.
Since the declaration of the Caliphate, France has begun surveillance
of close to 9,300 of its citizens. Two-thirds of those under surveillance are
under age twenty-five, and 40 percent are women; and nearly half have been
individuals reported by family members using the hotline system instituted
by the government. Two thousand have been confirmed as having had active
links to IS, and many have fought and died in core IS territory. Six hundred
are confirmed as still operating in core IS territory. These last are clearly the
ones attracting the most attention from French authorities.
Where the picture becomes more obscure regarding these French foreign
fighters is with regard to their different backgrounds. A significant portion of
the French citizens fighting with IS come from impoverished backgrounds
with stark experiences of disenfranchisement from society. Many, on the
other hand, have come from more privileged backgrounds and seem to have
been rigorously engaged with society. What is worrying is that there is no
simple type of box into which these foreign fighters fit.
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