Why Islamic State is targeting France

David Thomson is a journalist at French public broadcaster RFI and author of the recent book Les Français jihadistes ('French jihadists') published by Arènes. Mediapart's Joseph Confavreux interviewed him to discuss the motives behind the actions of Islamic State, who have claimed responsibility for the Paris terror attacks on Friday November 13th.

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Mediapart: What can one say about the attackers who carried out the shootings and bombings in Paris on Friday evening?

David Thomson: We must remain cautious, as at the moment we have very little indication as to the profile of the attackers, but if it turns out that we are looking at groups of attackers that contain foreigners, Syrians or Egyptians, that's a first. Either way, we've seen trained fighters in action and even if, in theory, this training could have taken place anywhere, it's probable that this training took place on soil controlled by Islamic State (IS) between Syria and Iraq.

That is going to raise questions about how these people were able to enter France, arm themselves and acquire explosive belts. Up to now the focus was put on French-speakers and French citizens able to come back to France, but if there are foreigners among the fighters, the [security] services in charge of this surveillance, who are already unable to do everything, are going to be completely overwhelmed.

You have to realise that the groups in charge of suicide operations inside IS are not chosen by random. Even though they're volunteers, they are chosen on the basis of their determination, their psychological strength, so that there's no risk of them losing their nerve. Inside IS there are suicide units who train together towards a particular objective, and it's that which we saw [on Friday evening] in Paris, with explosive belts but also bursts of Kalashnikov gunfire from a car, which is a technique initiated in Iraq and is part of IS iconography - one of their 'cult' videos shows exactly this kind of operation.

France had already seen attacks incited by IS propaganda, as had been the case in Isère [in eastern France where a man was beheaded] and during the failed plot in Villejuif [a town near Paris where there was a plan to attack churches]. But it's the first time that IS has carried out such a operation in France, one they led, with an official claim of responsibility which means that the attack was prepared and that the targets were chosen on the basis of precise criteria. The choice to target the Stade de France [sports stadium] “during a match between two Crusader countries, France and Germany” and which “the imbecile” François Hollande was attending, as is stated in the official claim of responsibility, owes nothing to chance.

Mediapart: Why is France being targeted today?

D.T.: The France was hit because it has become Islamic State's principal target. The change in IS strategy is explained by France's change in strategy, when in August 2014 it decided to join the international coalition [against IS]. More than 18 months ago IS switched to a strategy of global jihad, comparable to what Al Qaeda were doing, and no longer a strategy of territorial and military gain. In September 2014, and for the first time, the official IS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani called on members to kill citizens from countries that are part of the coalition, everywhere and by any means.
For all that, the global jihad strategy was part of the genetic make-up of all the IS fighters that I have interviewed for years. All dreamed of carrying out attacks in France, even before the IS strategy moved from regional to global jihad. Mehdi Nemmouche [editor's note, who is being held in Belgium in connection with a fatal shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels in May 2014] came back to commit his attacks in Europe before there were any IS instructions in this regard. So one mustn't link everything to France's external operations.

France, which is in the anti-Islamic State coalition, is threatened more than other countries, including countries that carry out more strikes such as Great Britain, for several reasons. Historically it is a former colonial power, particularly in the Maghreb [editor's note, area of North Africa], and there are many Maghrebis in IS ranks. France is also the European country with the greatest number of citizens in IS. Inside IS all French-speaking fighters fight together – French, Belgians, Maghrebis – and potentially supply far more volunteers than, for example, English speakers.

There's also lots of symbolic reasons that mean France is seen as the enemy of Islam, with its secularism, the law on the wearing of the veil. Finally, it's a country that's easier to strike at than Great Britain, which has a natural barrier in the English Channel.

Mediapart: Why target bars and a concert hall?

D.T.: In recent months IS fighters in Syria have spread the idea of attacking concert venues. The reason is, firstly, a practical one, as it means you can kill a maximum number of people in a minimum of time. In addition, concert halls represent the heart of all that is corrupt for IS, music, debauchery, idolatry. But today anything can constitute a target for Islamic State: schools, military bases, police stations. The idea is to sow terror in daily life and to seek what they judge to be an 'eye for an eye' in relation to the French strikes in Syria and Iraq.

Mediapart: What is happening on the French jihadist networks with whom you are in contact?

D.T.: Since Friday evening they've posted photos of their French passport next to their Kalashnikov. They're delighted and ecstatic, and many told me that they think this kind of attack gives them publicity and that many people were going to join them.

Mediapart: Can one say that the decision by IS to attack the heart of Paris is perhaps also the consequence of military and territorial setbacks in the Middle East?

D.T.: It's true that the attacks coincide with a military reversal, as on the eve of the attacks IS lost the [Iraqi] town of Sinjar and also El-Howl, situated on a strategic route. But this attack was planned well before the loss of these two towns. And it seems to me much too early to speak of the IS's military decline. Just after the battle of Kobane [editor's note, which IS failed to re-take], IS had taken Palmyra.

I note that each time that IS carries out a spe ctacular operation, it's said that it's a reaction to a defeat on the military front. But I see more of a rise in power and coherence. The Egyptian army has not managed to deal with IS's military rebellion in Sinai. IS controls whole towns in Libya. And the Nigerian army has not managed to push back Boko Haram, who have become IS's African branch. No country knows how to eradicate Islamic State.

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• The French version of this article can be found here.

English version by Michael Streeter