Far-right France: racist shootings and isolated perpetrators difficult to detect
Counter-terrorism services have signalled for years the threat posed by violent radical far-right groups, responsible for racist shootings carried out by isolated and psychologically unstable individuals.
Radical far-right: a documented but fragmented threat
According to Le Figaro, specialised services have long alerted to the major risk posed by violent radical far-right extremism in France. While jihadism remains the dominant counter-terrorism threat, the far-right sits at the heart of security concerns, alongside violent radical far-left movements.
Since 2019, shootings of a racist nature pursued under common law or counter-terrorism legislation have been the work of individuals unknown to intelligence services. These perpetrators, driven by racism, acted outside any organised far-right structure, making their detection particularly difficult.
The Puget-sur-Argens case, described by the judiciary as the first far-right attack, illustrates this profile: the perpetrator presents serious psychiatric disorders and remains de facto undetectable by conventional prevention tools. The recent killing of 23 October has revived the fears of authorities facing this category of solitary criminals, radicalised but not affiliated to structured far-right networks.
Source: Le Figaro