Description
Book Synopsis A torrent of Islamist terrorism swept across France in 2015 and 2016, executed by militant jihadists on behalf of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS). Their targets ranged from the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine to the Bataclan Theatre on the Boulevard Voltaire to a parish church in a Normandy village and a beachfront promenade on the Mediterranean. This book reconstructs these and other terrorist offensives France weathered during this period. Placing each attack in its sociopolitical context, the author examines the backgrounds and motives of the perpetrators, the attributes of the victims and the legacy of the attacks for the people.
Table of ContentsPrologue: The Ascent of Radical Islamism in the French Republic
Part I. The Pen and the Sword: Freedom of the Press, Islamist Extremism, and the Massacre at Charlie Hebdo Magazine
1. Charlie Hebdo Magazine and the Grand Tradition of French Satire
2. Courting Conflict: The Muhammad Cartoon Controversies in Denmark and France
3. Stéphane Charbonnier: Satirist, Skeptic, Target
4. Al-Qaeda and the Radicalization of Saïd and Chérif Kouachi
5. Silencing Satire: The Assault on Charlie Hebdo
Part II. The Campaign to Demoralize: ISIS Attacks at the Bataclan Theatre, the Stade de France, and the Cafés of Paris
6. Belgium, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, and the Paris Terror Units
7. Carnival of Horror: The Bataclan Theatre, Stade de France, and the Café Attacks of Friday the Thirteenth
8. Responses to the Attacks: The Medical Community, the Military, and Law Enforcement Agencies
Part III. Radical Islamism and Single-Perpetrator Terrorist Offensives in France
9. Lone-Actor Terrorism, Encrypted Extremism, and Remote Control Attacks
10. Normandy: The Slaying of a Parish Priest
11. Insanity by the Sea: The Bastille Day Ramming Attack
12. The Ramadan Murders: Ritualized Assault at an American-Owned Chemical Plant in France
13. Terror on the Tracks: Face-Off on a High-Speed Train to Paris
Epilogue—France Today: Emotional Scars, Enhanced Security, and the Question of Future Attacks
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
