ISIL-related terror attacks in France

ISIL-related terror attacks in France refers to the terrorist activity of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in France, including attacks committed by ISIL-inspired lone wolves. The French military operation Opération Sentinelle has been ongoing in France since the January 2015 Île-de-France attacks.

ISIL terrorism in France
Part of the Opération Sentinelle, Terrorism in France, Islamic terrorism in Europe
Date 2014 – present (6 years) Location France Status Ongoing Opération Sentinelle, French military-led domestic counter-terrorism operation. French military intervention in Syria, Mali and Niger, with jihadists as primary target.
Belligerents
France French Armed Forces Law enforcement in France	Islamic State Al-Qaeda
Commanders and leaders
François Hollande (2014–17) Emmanuel Macron (2017–present) Jean-Yves Le Drian (2014–17) Florence Parly (2017–present) Pierre de Villiers (2014–17) François Lecointre (2017–present) Philippe Lavigne (2018–present) André Lanata (2015–18) Denis Mercier (2014–15) Christophe Prazuck (2016–present) Bernard Rogel (2014–16)	Ayman al-Zawahiri Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi †[1] Abu Ala al-Afri †[2] Abu Ali al-Anbari † Abu Suleiman al-Naser † Abu Ali al-Anbari † Abu Omar al-Shishani † Abu Waheeb †
Casualties and losses
	285 killed[3]

Background

Prior to the attacks, the 2005 French riots occurred. They have been controversially[4] interpreted, mostly by the foreign press, as an illustration of the difficulty of integrating Muslims in France, and smaller scale riots have been occurring throughout the 1980s and 1990s, first in Vaulx-en-Velin in 1979, and in Vénissieux in 1981, 1983, 1990 and 1999.

According to The Guardian, eight attacks occurred in France during the eighteen months from January 2015 to July 2016,[5] including the January 2015 Île-de-France attacks (which killed 17 people), the November 2015 Paris attacks (which killed 130), and the July 2016 Nice truck attack (which killed 86). Reportedly, ISIL has called on its supporters for a coordinated wave of attacks in European countries.[6]

Timeline

2014

2015

On 26 June 2015, an attacker decapitated one person. He then blew up a gas canister in a factory in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, near Lyon, injuring two.

On 21 August 2015, in the 2015 Thalys train attack, a man threatened passengers with an AKM assault rifle on a Thalys train between Amsterdam and Paris. One passenger was shot in the neck with a pistol when the rifle jammed.[7] Two United States military personnel and other passengers intervened and overcame the attacker. One of them was cut in the struggle.[8]

From 13 November 2015 to 14 November 2015, a series of coordinated attacks began over about 35 minutes at six locations in central Paris. The first shooting attack occurred in a restaurant and a bar in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. There was shooting and a bomb detonated at Bataclan theatre in the 11th arrondissement during a rock concert. Approximately 100 hostages were then taken and overall 89 were killed there. Other bombings took place outside the Stade de France stadium in the suburb of Saint-Denis during a football match between France and Germany. Three days later, in Saint-Denis, a police raid-turned-shootout between at least 100 French police officers and soldiers and suspected members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant occurred, killing three suspects and injuring five police officers.

2016

On 1 January 2016, a 29-year-old Frenchman of Tunisian descent rammed over a civilian and a guard in an entrance of a mosque in Valence, Drôme, reportedly while chanting, "Allahu Akbar!" He then put his car into reverse to try to ram the soldiers again who fired warning shots and then fired to disable the driver. The driver said he wanted to kill troops because "troops killed people" and that he wanted to be killed by the troops.[9]

On 7 January 2016, an asylum seeker shouted "Allahu Akbar!" outside a police station in Goutte d'Or, near Montmartre, where police shot and killed him while a passerby was shot. Reports say he was wielding a knife and fake suicide vest.

On 11 January 2016, a 15-year-old Turkish boy attacked a teacher from a Jewish school in Marseilles with a machete, apparently attempting to decapitate him. The student told police that he had committed the act "in the name of Allah and ISIS".[10][11]

On 27 May 2016, a French military person was left in a "serious condition" after being attacked with knives in Saint-Julien-du-Puy (Tarn). The military was approached by two men who "have criticized the French bombing in Syria." He was then beaten with fists and beaten cutter.

On 13 June 2016, in the 2016 Magnanville stabbing, a police officer and his wife, a police secretary, were stabbed to death in their home in Magnanville, France, located about 55 km (34 mi) west of Paris, by a man convicted in 2013 of associating with a group planning terrorist acts. Amaq News Agency, an online outlet said to be linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),[12] said that a source had claimed that ISIL was behind the attack.[13]

On the evening of 14 July 2016, in the 2016 Nice attack, a 19 tonne cargo truck was deliberately driven into crowds celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, resulting in the death of 86 people and injuring 434. On 16 July, two agencies linked to Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.[14]

On 26 July 2016, in the 2016 Normandy church attack, two assailants killed the priest Jacques Hamel and seriously wounded a woman in a church in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray.[15] The two assailants were killed by French Special Forces. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.[16][17]

2017

On 3 February 2017, in the 2017 Louvre machete attack, an Egyptian national in France on a tourist visa was shot as he rushed a group of French soldiers guarding a principal entrance to the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, attacking and injuring one soldier with a machete.[18] The soldiers were patrolling the Museum as part of Opération Sentinelle, guarding the Carrousel du Louvre.[19][20] Immediately after his arrest, the suspect told authorities that he was carrying spray paint in order to deface the museum's artwork, an act that he regarded as a "symbolic" attack on France.[21][22][23][24]

On 18 March 2017, in the March 2017 Île-de-France attacks, a pair of terrorist attacks by the same individual occurred in Garges-lès-Gonesse, an outer suburb of Paris, and Orly Airport near Paris. The attacker, a 39-year-old man identified as Ziyed Ben Belgacem,[25] was shot dead after attempting to seize a weapon from a soldier patrolling the airport under Opération Sentinelle.[26]

On 20 April 2017, in the 2017 shooting of Paris police officers, three police officers were shot by an attacker wielding an AK-47 rifle on the Champs-Élysées, a shopping boulevard in Paris, France. One officer was killed and two others, along with a female tourist, were seriously wounded. The attacker was then shot dead by police. ISIL claimed responsibility.[27][28]

On 6 June 2017, in the 2017 Notre Dame attack, a lone attacker assaulted a police officer at Notre-Dame de Paris. The officer and the attacker, a 40-year-old Algerian graduate student who had left a video, pledging allegiance to ISIL, were both injured.[29][30][31]

2018

On 23 March 2018, the Carcassonne and Trèbes attack was conducted by a lone attacker who pledged allegiance to ISIL.[32] 4 persons and the attacker were killed and 25 injured.[33]

On 11 December 2018, in the 2018 Strasbourg attack, a 29-year-old French citizen of Algerian origin killed five civilians and wounded 11 others at a Christmas market in Strasbourg, France, before being killed in a shootout with police two days later.

2019

On 24 May 2019, in the 2019 Lyon bomb attack A packet bomb explodes in front of a bakery in the pedestrian zone of Lyon. 13 people were wounded. A 24-year old male student from Algeria was arrested 3 days later. No group has claimed responsibility of the attack yet.

On 3 October 2019, in the Paris police headquarters stabbing A radicalized Islamist stabbed four people to death, and injured two others at the central police headquarters in Paris. He was an administrative worker and had been recently converting to Salafist Islam. The perpetrator was shot instantly dead by other officers.

2020

On 4 April 2020 in the 2020 Romans-sur-Isère knife attack two people were killed and five others wounded in a mass stabbing in Romans-sur-Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. The suspect is a 30-year-old Sudanese asylum seeker who was arrested at the scene. French police have launched a terrorism investigation. Two other people related to the attacker were arrested later.

On 27 April 2020 Two police officers were seriously injured when a driver rammed his vehicle into them in Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine. The perpetrator was arrested, and a source stated that the man carried out the attack to "avenge events in Palestine". The attacker had pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

Economic impact

Negative impacts

At the end of 2015, the INSEE forecasts that the terrorist attacks of November will cause a 0.1% decrease of the country's GDP for the last part of that year.[34]

Following the hostage taking of the 13th of November 2015 and the July 2016 Nice attack, the French Government decided to raise the tax on insurance contracts from €3.30 to €5.90 per contract generating a benefit of €140 million euros which were redistributed to the victims and their families.[35]

Tourism was largely impacted by the terrorist attacks of 2015. Following the week of the 13th, restaurants (especially gourmet ones), movie theatres, museums (Louvre, Grand Palais, ...) and fashion galleries (Lafayette, Printemps Haussman) experienced a downfall of visitor rate up to 50%. This phenomenon was all more so disastrous for the economy as it occurred a couple weeks before Christmas.[36]

In 2016, the number of tourists saw a 7% decrease. The SNCF (French National Railroad Service) announced a loss of 300 million euros on that year.[37] The final results of the Regional Comity of Tourism confirmed a fall of 1.5 million tourists, essentially international ones notably Chinese, which represents a loss of 1.3 billion euros.

Positive impacts

Following the attacks, security services are increasingly sought. Private bodyguards are hired, policemen are mobilized to proceed to check ups at the entrance of highly attended public events, hackers are hired to prevent the risk of new attacks.[38] Thousands of French flags were purchased at the end of the year 2016. The book ‘A Moveable Feast’, written by Ernest Hemingway, describing the delightful Parisian life in the 1920s, sold 125,400 copies instead of the expected 3000. Book stores quickly experienced a shortage thus thousands of copies were printed to respond to the unprecedented demand.[39]

See also

• Terrorism in France
• Islam in France
• Islamic terrorism
• Terrorism in Europe
• European migrant crisis
• Spillover of the Syrian Civil War

References

1. "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: IS leader 'killed in US operation' in Syria". BBC News. 27 October 2019.
2. Engel, Pamela (23 April 2015). "Report: A former physics teacher favored by Osama bin Laden is now leading ISIS". Business Insider. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
3. "France: A timeline of terror". Sky News. Sky UK. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
4. "The Nature of the French Riots". Olivier Roy, Social Science Research Council. November 2005. Retrieved 19 June 2011. The bulk of the rioters are second generation migrants, but, if we consider the names of the arrested people, it is more ethnically mixed than one could have expected (beyond the second generation with a Muslim background—mainly North Africans, plus some Turks and Africans—there are also many non-Muslim Africans as well as people with French, Spanish or Portuguese names). The rioters are French citizens (only around 7% of the arrested people are foreigners, usually residents). [...]the religious dimension is conspicuously absent from the riots. This is not a revolt of the Muslims.
5. Hussey, Andrew (30 July 2016). "France church attack: Even if you are not a Catholic, this feels like a new and deeper wound". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
6. Osborne, Simon (3 August 2016). "ISIS commanders call for co-ordinated wave of terror attacks". The Daily Express. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
7. Barrett, David (23 August 2015). "Revealed: The mystery man who tackled AK-47 assault rifle from train gunman". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
8. "France train shooting: Hollande thanks 'heroes' who foiled gunman". BBC. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
9. "Man who drove car at troops not linked to terrorist group: French prosecutor". Reuters. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
10. Lilla, Mark (10 March 2016). "France: Is there a way out?". New York Review of Books. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
11. "L'agresseur de l'enseignant juif se réclame de l'Etat islamique" (in French). Le Figaro. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
12. "Amaq – 24/7 News Agency Run by ISIS", 'from Asharq al-Awsat
13. SITE (13 June 2016). "IS' 'Amaq Reports IS Fighter Behind Stabbing Death of Police Officer in Paris Suburb".
14. "France Says Truck Attacker Was Tunisia Native With Record of Petty Crime". 16 July 2016 – via The New York Times.
15. "France church attack: Priest killed by two 'IS militants'". BBC News. BBC. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
16. "Seine Maritime : Prise d'otage dans une église". 2016-07-26. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
17. Willsher, Kim; Borger, Julian (2016-07-26). "Men who murdered priest in Normandy church were Isis followers, says Hollande". the Guardian. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
18. Mulholland, Rory; Burke, Louise (3 February 2017). "Louvre terror attack: Egyptian man, 'who arrived in France in January' shot five times after attacking soldier with macheteLouvre terror attack: Egyptian man, 'who arrived in France in January' shot five times after attacking soldier with machete". Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
19. "Paris's Louvre Museum re-opens as attack probe continues". France24. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
20. "Louvre museum reopens; Egypt identifies machete attacker". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
21. Kirby, Jen (10 February 2017). "French Authorities Foil 'Imminent' Terror Plot Against Paris". New York Magazine. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
22. Dearden, Lizzie (9 February 2017). "Le Louvre attack suspect denies acting under Isis orders after Twitter messages show support for 'Islamic state'". The Independent. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
23. Emilie Blachère (13 February 2017). "Attack at the Louvre: the tourist was a terrorist". Paris Match (in French). Retrieved 13 February 2017. Investigators found bombs of aerosol paint in his bag. No doubt to blot out the masterpieces of the museum.
24. Miranda, Rosanna (14 February 2017). "Vi racconto la jihad contro l'arte occidentale". Formiche. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
25. Chazan, David (18 March 2017). "Radicalised Muslim known to security agencies shot dead in possible 'terror' incident at Paris airport - as security stepped up at stadium where Duke and Duchess watch rugby". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
26. "Orly airport: Man killed after seizing soldier's gun". BBC News. 18 March 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
27. Ghu, Magalie (April 21, 2017). "La vie fauchée de Xavier Jugelé, le policier qui voulait " célébrer la vie et dire non aux terroristes "". La Voix du Nord. Retrieved April 26, 2017. Jeudi soir sur les Champs-Élysées, il effectuait des tours de sécurisation pour protéger un centre culturel turc situé au numéro 102.
28. "Attentat des Champs-Elysées : Xavier Jugelé, un policier engagé qui "protégeait les citoyens"". L'Obs. April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2017. Jeudi 20 avril, Xavier Jugelé, jeune policier de 37 ans, était chargé d'effectuer des tours de sécurisation sur l'avenue des Champs-Elysées, pour protéger un centre culturel turc.
29. "Notre Dame: Man shot by French police after attacking them with hammer". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
30. Willsher, Kim (2017-06-06). "Paris police shoot man who attacked officer outside Notre Dame Cathedral". the Guardian. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
31. "Man shot after trying to attack cop with hammer at Notre Dame". New York Post. 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
32. "Trèbes attack shows changing face of ISIL". Thenational.ae. 24 March 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
33. Chrisafis, Angelique; Willsher, Kim (24 March 2018). "French supermarket siege: gendarme dies after taking place of hostage". The Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
34. "Economic impact of Paris attacks expected to be short-lived, INSEE..." Reuters. 2015-12-17. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
35. McGuinness, Romina (2016-09-27). "French government to raise 'terror tax' on insurance policies amid spike in deadly attacks". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
36. "Le tourisme, premier secteur économique touché par les attentats". Franceinfo (in French). 2015-11-21. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
37. "En 2016, la SNCF aurait perdu 300 millions d'euros à cause des attentats". LExpansion.com (in French). 2016-10-05. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
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39. Symons, Emma-Kate. "Paris bookstores are selling out of Ernest Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast"". Quartz. Retrieved 2019-06-27.