Interview: Lack of responses in European society pushes youth into IS' embrace: French expert

The radicalization of the youth in Europe and their engagement in jihadist movement is partially due to the lack of political responses in European society, Anne Guidicelli, director of Terrorisc, an operation consulting firm on politicial and security risks, told Xinhua.

"There is a phenomenon of attractiveness that eventually represents the offer of the Islamic state. Because the European societies are no longer doing enough to hold a fringe of youth," Giudicelli said.

She said that the political class, especially the French one, does not make enough responses to embrace this evolution and to change its economic and social approach.

"European society has changed, evolved, diversified and globalized. Social differentiation is occurring and when there are not enough strong social projects to unite the European societies, which allows each member countries their own national spaces and European space at the same time, people will integrate in other places," she insisted.

Giudicelli said that the attacks in Europe, especially in France recently, were the consequence of actions taken abroad. What's more, the European societies are not prepared on the soil of Europe to face the possible consequences of governments' external policies.

"The Schengen area was considered as an area of peace, and this value of peace has been challenged by the evolution of countries in crisis where we intervened politically and militarily," she said.

She stressed that the military operation can destroy a facility but it cannot destroy an ideology.

"The strikes against Daech (IS) in Syria will push them into other places that are also out of control, such as Libya. There are already movements (of the IS) from Syria towards Libya, Yemen," Giudicelli explained.

For her, today's problem with the terrorists of the Islamic State is not only the military strikes that are already being carried out in regions where the IS has implantation, but also the risk that the terrorists will put their commanding headquarters in Europe.

According to Guidicelli, the strikes in Syria can reduce terrorist threats for a short term. "We say that Syria has been cleared of the Islamic State, so we won the war. But actually we will not win it because other countries, such as Libya and Yemen that are out of control, can be used to serve IS," she noted. Endit