Inside France's 'boot camp' for wavering radicals - BBC News
You can not make this stuff up - comedy gold!
From now until the end of 2017 the state plans to open 13 residential rehabilitation centres - one in each region of France - at a reported cost of £40m. They will accommodate different kinds of people - some may be for hardened radicals who have recently come back from Syria or been released from prison.
But the first one to open is more of a prevention centre - "de-radicalisation light".
The centre, we're told, is not in the business of de-radicalisation but re-engagement and re-integration. The aim is to support young people who are cut off from their families and friends and "rescue them before they fall off the edge into radicalism", as Domenach puts it.
But why would somebody on the path of radicalisation volunteer to come to a place like this? "It's complicated," says Domenach. "With young people on the brink there's often a tug of war between a thirst for life and a fascination with death."
But I am still confused. How will people end up here if they aren't funnelled through the criminal justice system? Apparently they can be referred by concerned teachers or by parents who have called a helpline called Stop-Djihadisme.
...
Residents will have to get up at 06:45 each morning, go to classes and wear uniforms or "certain outfits", as the director puts it. They'll study French history, religion and philosophy. Once a week they'll salute the French flag and sing La Marseillaise. (That'll stop those muslim terrorists!)
Some critics warn that this approach might backfire but republican values, insists the Prefet of Indre and Loire, are the key to success. "They need to feel like citizens," he says. Residents will be able to do sport, capoeira, slam poetry and horse therapy.
(WTF?! Is Clouseau behind this? This could turn into some Clockwork Orange/MKUltra nightmare -
NB - French Presidential elections in April next year)
You can not make this stuff up - comedy gold!
From now until the end of 2017 the state plans to open 13 residential rehabilitation centres - one in each region of France - at a reported cost of £40m. They will accommodate different kinds of people - some may be for hardened radicals who have recently come back from Syria or been released from prison.
But the first one to open is more of a prevention centre - "de-radicalisation light".
The centre, we're told, is not in the business of de-radicalisation but re-engagement and re-integration. The aim is to support young people who are cut off from their families and friends and "rescue them before they fall off the edge into radicalism", as Domenach puts it.
But why would somebody on the path of radicalisation volunteer to come to a place like this? "It's complicated," says Domenach. "With young people on the brink there's often a tug of war between a thirst for life and a fascination with death."
But I am still confused. How will people end up here if they aren't funnelled through the criminal justice system? Apparently they can be referred by concerned teachers or by parents who have called a helpline called Stop-Djihadisme.
...
Residents will have to get up at 06:45 each morning, go to classes and wear uniforms or "certain outfits", as the director puts it. They'll study French history, religion and philosophy. Once a week they'll salute the French flag and sing La Marseillaise. (That'll stop those muslim terrorists!)
Some critics warn that this approach might backfire but republican values, insists the Prefet of Indre and Loire, are the key to success. "They need to feel like citizens," he says. Residents will be able to do sport, capoeira, slam poetry and horse therapy.
(WTF?! Is Clouseau behind this? This could turn into some Clockwork Orange/MKUltra nightmare -
NB - French Presidential elections in April next year)
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