PARIS
The French government launched a counter terrorism website Wednesday to create awareness among nationals planning to fight in conflict zones, including Syria and Iraq.
The website entitled "Stop Djihadisme" is an "informative and preventative platform" to counter "fanatics" who recruit young French nationals to fight in Syria and Iraq, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.
In order to dismantle the arguments used by recruiters of fighters abroad, French authorities are using some of the same propaganda methods on the Internet.
"We must educate and raise the young people's awareness about this,” Cazeneuve added. “It is a way of protecting youth and others."
The French government estimates that some 1,300 French nationals are currently involved in fighting in Syria and Iraq.
Justice Minister Christiane Taubira said 110 legal cases involving alleged fighters returning to France from Syria and Iraq are currently being processed.
