France at Great Risk of WMD Terrorism, Official Says

There is a significant danger that militant Islamists could attack in France, possibly using unconventional weapons, the country’s senior terrorism investigator said in an article published yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 26).

“The level (of threat) is incontestably high. Radicalization has never been this strong,” Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere told the Le Figaro newspaper.

Bruguiere said a chemical attack could occur, “for the simple reason that some of these networks have worked with chemicals or biological toxins such as ricin or botulin.”

Asked about the likelihood of a nuclear attack, he said, “One thing is certain: the risk of a dirty bomb has not been taken out of the equation.”

Home to Europe’s largest Muslim minority, France has become a top recruiting area for Islamist militants, according to Bruguiere.

“It is directly linked to the situation in Iraq, which is changing the shape of the threat,” he said (Reuters, Oct. 4).

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