Young radicals for political reasons

Malek Boutih is a French Member of the National Assembly. His family roots can be found in North Africa and in the Islam. 

At the request of Manuel Valls, the Prime Minister of France, Boutih as looked at the radicalisation of the French youth. After four months of interviews and consultations, he has just issued his report. He called it “Géneration Radicale” and indeed the key point he makes is that many among the French youth are indeed attracted by a radical approach to politics and social engagement. Boutih´s main conclusion is that the extremism the young people espouse is basically a political response – and not a religious option. The extremists see no room for them in the French society, have no hope of a better life, feel they do not belong –notwithstanding they are second or third generation French nationals, as children and grandchildren of North African former immigrants – and then they look elsewhere. They end up by seeing violence as a means to be heard and a way of gaining the protagonism that an European society will never afford them.

The report is worth noting. And the key reading is that Western European societies have to be prepared to respond, in a comprehensive, multifaceted manner to the radical challenge. This is not a temporary problem. It is something that has now deep roots in our societies. It requires top attention.