A shocking new confidential report obtained by a French newspaper reveals that French police have a growing problem with Islamists in their own ranks.
German weekly Junge Freiheit reports that French publication La Parisien was able to obtain a confidential report from the French Ministry of Public Security. The report details at least 17 cases of Islamic radicalisation among police officers in the country between 2012-2015.
The report also mentions that officials have heard cases where Muslim officers would chant Islamic phrases while on patrol in various suburbs, including those known to have large Jewish populations, in order to intimidate locals. In addition, many Muslim police outright refused to engage in any duty near synagogues in Paris and elsewhere.
In one particular instance police became aware of a female officer who took to social media to endorse terrorist groups and called her own police uniform “filthy rags of the republic,” while using it to wipe her hands.
While the number of cases of radicalised police is not huge, it seems to be a growing trend and a concern for authorities. The leadership of the police has decided to publish every case that violates their principle of secularism in their weekly magazine in order to show others that it is not acceptable.
The French military is also facing similar problems. Increasing numbers of soldiers in the French armed forces are showing signs of radicalisation. In 2013 the Assistant Deputy Director of Counter Intelligence, Colonel Pascal Rolez, at the French Security and Defense Directorate (DPSD) said: “We are witnessing a growing radicalisation among French soldiers, especially since the Merah affair.” The Merah affair occurred in 2012 when Mohammed Merah murdered four Jews at a school in Toulouse along with three French soldiers.
The problem was made more obvious in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks when at least a dozen French soldiers deserted the forces. The soldiers were said to have connection to jihadists groups in Syria and Iraq.
A 35-year-old police officer was even a friend and acquaintance of Amar Ramadani who was an accomplice to Amedy Coulibaly who killed Jews in a Kosher supermarket during the Hebdo massacre. The 35-year-old woman was convicted of violating safety regulations, given one year probation and later sacked from the force.
Some 10,000 French military are now on active duty protecting synagogues, Jewish schools and transport locations. Yesterday, following the Brussels attacks, German police said they were over-stretched and under-equipped to deal with terror attacks.