Intelligence to Special Forces: how France is protecting itself against terrorism | M6 | Enquête Exclusive

They are 2,300 in number posted across the territory. They are the Territorial Intelligence police, the new RG (General Intelligence), one of the elite forces responsible for the antiterrorist struggle in France. Each day, they monitor over 2,000 targets”, of whom 300 are considered to be potentially extremely dangerous.   The officers of the Territorial Intelligence gave us exceptional permission to film behind the scenes: not only their James Bond style gadgets, but also their everyday fight against terrorism. Hours of surveillance watching a person who’s been radicalized, following his every move, evaluating the risk he poses. The objective of these officers in the shadows: at all costs, prevent one of them from committing the act. They are also responsible for monitoring certain mosques and ensuring that the most radical of them do not fall into the hands of the salafists. During this investigation we discovered how young people can be radicalized over the Internet, often in record time. Daech makes especial use of the best-known video games, such as Call of Duty or Assassin Creed to attract young people and explain, with stunning realism, how to carry out a terrorist attack. In Toulouse, Airbus gave us exclusive access to their hangars. How do you prevent an attack in mid-air? The aircraft manufacturer employs a small “army” of hackers to thwart the attempts of computer hijackers to take control of a plane. In the military field, in France, as abroad, there’s a general mobilization. Operation Sentinelle has boosted its numbers to 10,000 over the national territory, the equivalent of half the infantry. Since the attacks on Charlie Hebdo, the Hypercacher store and those of November 13, the Army has been inundated with enlistment requests: nearly 2,000 per day, compared to barely 100 in 2014. Who are these young people signing up? In the South-West of France, special forces adapt and train with live ammunition to face these new threats. Overseas, soldiers are on every front: in Mali, Chad and still in Iraq. In total, more than 7,000 French military personnel are engaged in overseas operations. The carrier Charles de Gaulle is also engaged in the war in Syria. However, from September 2016, it will be out of commission for 18 months because of a refit. Over the last 25 years, the Defense budget has been reduced by 20% in real terms. Despite the mobilization, does the Army today have the capacity to protect us?”