Visit to the United States by French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve - France in the United States / Embassy of France in Washington, D.C.
French Minister of Interior Bernard Cazeneuve will visit the U.S. from February 18 to 21.
Travel to San Francisco. Series of meetings with key Internet figures.
For information, please contact Arnaud Guillois at the Embassy of France in Washington: (202) 944-6070/ (202) 230-2336 or at arnaud.guillois@diplomatie.gouv.fr.
I would like to begin by telling you how honored I am to attend this international summit, which offers me the opportunity – after the attacks on my country – to thank you warmly on behalf of France and the French people for your gestures of solidarity during that ordeal. I salute our American hosts, and particularly John Kerry, for their unwavering support.
We are all concerned by this threat. That’s why we must be more united than ever in facing it, as the United Nations’ global counterterrorism strategy and Security Council resolution 2178 make clear.
How should we characterize the threat facing us? What should we do about violent extremism?
Despite the barbarity of their crimes and the recent setbacks they’ve experienced, terrorist organizations in Syria and Iraq such as Daesh and Jabhat al-Nusra are still recruiting in Europe, and particularly in France. This terrorist threat is multifaceted and of a type largely not seen before. Nowadays, terrorism is diffuse and “open-access.” It involves individuals who were born or who grew up among us, and who one day, following a more or less quick process, embrace terrorist fanaticism. Hence, the profile of terrorists and potential terrorists has changed. Many have become radicalized on the Internet. Some leave for Syria or Iraq, and return to Europe indoctrinated and trained to kill. Others shift from crime to terrorism after serving time in prison or after contact with hard-line Islamists.
While the preventive actions we put in place in April 2014 thwarted many departures, more than 400 young French nationals are now in Iraq and Syria. It is estimated that nearly 1,400 French nationals are involved, in one way or another, with networks of fighters.
For our security and intelligence agencies, these different radicalization processes all represent different challenges. The French government has taken strong measures to strengthen our counterterrorism arsenal, while remaining careful to respect the law and fundamental liberties. All of our agencies have mobilized their efforts to dismantle terrorist networks and prevent any threat of attack.
- by creating a denser network in order to more effectively detect signs of radicalization at their source.
Next, to impede terrorist efforts and propaganda, we are instituting new legal tools. The law of November 13, 2014, which is for the most part already being very strictly implemented, introduced four major innovations into our legislation: a ban on leaving French soil; a ban on non-resident foreigners representing a threat to national security from entering or staying in France; the blocking of Internet sites that incite or promote terrorism; and finally, instituting additional penalties for the offense of promoting or inciting terrorism.
Furthermore, we are developing a modern legal framework for the activities of our intelligence agencies. In the weeks ahead, the French government will introduce a bill giving it legal tools that are commensurate with the new terrorist threats, technological developments, and changes in national and international law.
This comprehensive action should be extended to the European and international level. France therefore calls for the full implementation of UNSCR 2178. In order to ensure the long-term effectiveness of our efforts, we must take action together and coordinate our response. That’s why we’ve also proposed a comprehensive strategy to the EU members. On January 11, I met with the interior ministers of the G10 (the EU members states that are on the front line with respect to this issue), the president of the EU Council and the European Commissioner for Security Affairs. Eric Holder and Alejandro Mayorkas, as well as the Canadian Minister of Public Safety, Steven Blaney, also attended the meeting. Last week, a European summit confirmed the guidelines that we agreed upon on January 11.
3. Lastly, improved coordination with respect to combatting propaganda and the recruitment of terrorists on the Internet, by collectively exerting our influence on the major Internet providers (with whom I am due to meet tomorrow in San Francisco), by harmonizing our legislation on the removal of illegal content, and by adapting the legal framework for international cooperation to the way in which globalized information systems work.
Lastly, cooperation with Middle Eastern countries, which are particularly affected by the terrorist phenomenon, is an absolute necessity.
This is what I wanted to say to you today. I’m convinced that, in the face of terrorism, our strength lies in our unity and our solidarity. That’s how we will overcome this threat. Thank you.