HUNTING A SPECTRE: THE FRENCH FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM
Since the end of July, France has been hit by a wave of terror bombings. So far, 7 have died and some 180 were injured in eight attacks.
In August, the Government launched Vigi-pirate, a plan of action against terrorist threats, last applied in 1991 at the height of the Gulf war. In October, 32,000 men including police, gendarmerie, intelligence services and 15,000 soldiers, were mobilised under the plan. In Paris, members of the French Foreign Legion are posted in front of the Eiffel tower, random checks have become a part of daily life everywhere in the country, and the poor suburbs of all major cities are virtually under siege by the security forces.
Algerian Islamic extremists are suspected of being behind the bombings. Consequently, surveillance measures have first affected the country's large North African population. While Vigipirate is thus contributing to the further discrimination and exclusion of an already segregated minority, it is doubtful whether it will be successful in putting an end to the wave of terrorism. Many believe that it cannot be imputed to one particular terrorist organisation but is rather fuelled by a multitude of complex political and social factors.
The current events in France might soon prove to be just a first expression of what is likely to happen in the whole of Europe, if governments continue to resort to policing only to combat mounting violence actually caused by social, political and legal exclusion.
A chronology
On 11 July, a moderate islamic leader, the Iman Sahraoui was assassinated in Paris by unidentified gunmen after having publicly condemned terrorist acts of Algerian islamic groups. The Algerian Sécurité militaire (Military secret service) had earlier warned the French authorities against an imminent assassination attempt gainst the Iman. In the wake of the murder, French security forces carried out a number of spectacular raids in the Algerian community and arrested dozens of alleged "Islamic extremists".
On 25 July, a bomb exploded at the St Michel station of the RER underground railway killing 7 and injuring 80. Identikit pictures of three men of North African appearance seen by witnesses at the site of the bombing were widely published in the media. A policeman claimed that one of the suspects was identical with A. D., an Algerian resident in Sweden known for his sympathies with the GIA. The man was arrested in Stockholm, but a French request for his extradition was rejected by Sweden (see FECL No. 37, p. 6 and this issue, p. 6).
On 1 August, the Government launched the first phase of Vigipirate, consisting of increased police surveillance of public buildings, a wider use of ID checks, and more random raids in North African neighbourhoods.
On 15 August, policemen were shot at as they tried to stop three persons in a car owned by Khaled Kelkal, a young Algerian from the Lyons region known to the police as a petty offender. The three escaped.
The next bomb attack occurred on 17 August in Paris. It was followed by a failed bombing attempt against the TGV high-speed train Paris-Lyon on 26 August and another bomb blast in Paris on 3 september. Police investigators found the finger-prints of Kelkal on the bomb aimed against the TGV.
On 7 September, a bomb detonated in front of a Jewish school in Villeurbanne, minutes before the end of classes. It was only because classes were still in progress - but about to end minutes later - thata bloodbath was prevented.
The Government responded by launching the "second phase" of Vigipirate. The decision was taken at a meeting of the "Interministerial Committee for the fight against terrorism (CILAT). Army units were mobilised to assist the police in maintaining public security. According to President Chirac, under Vigipirate the Interior Ministry had at its disposal 70,000 men by the end of October.
On 29 September, a unit of the EPIGN, a special intervention force of the Gendarmerie tracked down Kelkal and two of his companions in a mountain area near Lyons. Kelkal was shot dead. The day after, Interior Minister Jean-Louis Debré suggested at a press conference that Kelkal played an instrumental role in all terrorist attacks since July and that his death amounted to a decisive blow against islamic terrorism in France. The euphoric declarations of the Interior Minister were, however, quickly played down both by the prosecution authorities and Prime Minister Juppé.
An investigation of the shooting showed that Kelkal was alone and armed only with a pistol, when the EPIGN surrounded him. Kelkal was hit by 11 bullets, whereof only the last was lethal. On an audio-tape recorded by a TV team at the site of the shooting, the order of a EPIGN officer can be heard: "Finish him off!".
48 hours after the death of Khaled Kelkal, heavy riots broke out in his home town Vaulx-en Velin, a Lyons suburb with a strong North African population. In a night-long battle angry youths burned dozens of cars and threw stones at the police.
Similar riots broke out all around the country in October, and almost every night clashes between youths and security forces were reported in some suburb of one of the country's larger cities. While it is probable that the killing of Kelkal and the police hunt of "Algerian extremists" was a contributing factor in triggering the riots, in most cases other, local, reasons were instrumental.
In Strasbourg, rioters attacked tramways and buses. 60 soldiers of an infantry regiment mobilised under Vigipirate were hurried into the city to deter what seemed to be ordinary young hooligans rather than Islamic terrorists.
On 31 October, angry youths attacked the town hall and other public buildings of Vigneux-sur-Seine during 4 hours, and the same day, clashes between rioters and security forces were reported from Evry, another Paris suburb.
In late September, security forces detained 28 persons and seized 44 kilograms of explosives in raids in remote mountain areas in the départements of Vaucluse and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in the South East of France.
On 7 October, the GIA claimed responsibility for the terrorist attacks in a letter signed by its leader and threatened further acts of violence on French soil. According to the police, the signature under the letter was authentic.
In late October, President Chirac met his Algerian counterpart, General Zéroual, at the UN 50th-anniversary celebrations in New York. The meeting was widely interpreted as a further sign of continued French support for the Algerian military regime.
On 25 October, the French Government adopted a proposal for new anti-terrorist legislation consisting of an extended list of offences that under certain circumstances can be considered as "acts of terrorism". One of the offences mentioned on the list is assistance to illegal aliens.
On 2 November, the French police arrested 6 suspected GIA terrorists in Paris after the discovery in an apartment in Lille of an explosive device of the same type used in earlier attacks imputed to the GIA. According to the police, the six were planning a bomb attack on a market place in Lille and had "contacts" with Boualem Bensaid, a 28 year old Algerian arrested a day earlier, whom the police presented as the "Emir of the GIA", the actual wire-puller behind the terrorist attacks.
On 4 November, two Algerians, whom French authorities claim to be "key figures" in the GIA, were arrested in a joint operation of Scotland Yard and MI5 in London. Both are recognised refugees in the UK. One of the men, Abdelkader Benouif, is suspected by the French investigators of having planned the attacks in Paris from London.
From the Stockholm man to the London man: the French authorities have pointed out a lot of suspected terrorist "masterminds". However, it remains to be seen whether there is only one wire-puller (the GIA) behind the terrorist attacks. For the growing number of young North Africans in France, there are many reasons other than Muslim fundamentalism to turn violent. And there are groups other than Algerian fundamentalists that might have a political interest in scaring France into a state of emergency.
Sources: Research by Geneviève Mayeur, Radio IFM, Grenoble; France Soir, 26.10.95; Info Matin, 23.10.95, 11.9.95; Le Monde, 9.9.95; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 5.10.95, 6.11.95, 26.10.95; Svenska Dagbladet, 2.11.95.