Terror in France: The Rise of Jihad in the West with Gilles Kepel

Policy Exchange were delighted to host the launch of Professor Gilles Kepel’s new book Terror in France: The Rise of Jihad in the West.

Professor Kepel is a French political scientist specialising in the contemporary Middle East and Islam in the West. He is Professor at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. Kepel, whose work was referenced by President Elect Emmanuel Macron during the most recent Presidential debate with Marine Le Pen, has been described by the New York Times’ Robert Worth as “The Prophet of France’s Fracture… the country’s most famous scholar of Islam.”

Professor Kepel’s new book gives his account of the radicalization of a segment of Muslim youth that led to the attacks of 2015 and 2016 – and of the failure of governments in France and across Europe to address it. It was originally published in French shortly after the 2015 Paris attacks and became an instant bestseller. It has now been translated in to English and fully updated to reflect the latest developments.

As the elections in France, which took place right after another jihadi attack in Paris, show how polarised the country has become, Professor Kepel can provide fresh insight for anyone interested in France today.

Professor Kepel spoke about his book followed by a discussion and Q&A.