ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 provides a historical recollection of French experience with different forms of terrorist violence and the impact of these experiences on the systematisation of the anti-terrorism universe. In detail, key moments of French domestic and foreign policy are presented and analysed. Other than domestic and mostly separatist (ETA and ARB) and extreme left (Direct Action) types of terrorism, France experienced different sorts of attacks motivated by the country’s involvement in North African and Middle Eastern dynamics. The chapter also explores the serious implications in terms of terrorist threats that the conflict in Algeria had for France, not only during the struggle for independence (1954–1962) but also throughout the development of the 1992–2002 civil war which engendered a proliferation of terrorist organisations in the region. The historical overview also illustrates how one of the most intense moments of counterterrorism transformation in France, during the mid to late 1980s, was directly linked to French interventionism abroad. In this context, the chapter reveals how the major characteristic of the French reaction was grounded on a combination of stronger domestic repressive measures along with a softer international profile, and an overall low-profile confrontation within the national political debate. Finally, the chapter presents a detailed analysis of the current systematisation of the French counterterrorism universe, major policy changes, and ongoing missions at the domestic and international levels.
