the national anti-terrorism prosecutor describes “a new phenomenon, with increasingly young minors”

The national anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-François Ricard confides, Tuesday April 16 on France Inter, witnessing a new phenomenon since “a year, a year and a half” concerning the terrorist threat, with the appearance of “minors who are often between 15 and 17 years old”. “These are younger and younger minors”he adds.

Jean-François Ricard explains that last year the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office “requested on 12 occasions the indictment of minors for plans for fairly finalized violent actions.” This figure is significantly higher compared to previous years, when it was around “3 or 4”. The magistrate specifies that “for the moment this phenomenon will continue in 2024”.

“People who gorge themselves on terrible images” via the networks

The national anti-terrorism prosecutor tries to provide some explanations for this phenomenon. He therefore wonders if “the reasons for the novelty of this phenomenon lie in the presence of a generation which has only known digital technology, which forms its relationships only through digital technology and has an extremely violent consumption of digital technology”. He thus describes “people binging on gruesome images, including Islamic State beheading videos.”