France Expands Citizenship Revocation for Convicted Terrorists
The French Interior Ministry has significantly broadened the application of decrees that revoke citizenship from individuals convicted of Islamist terrorism. In fact, recent reports indicate that over five times as many orders have been issued in the last three years compared to the previous three decades combined.
According to data sourced by Le Figaro, more than 70 decrees have been issued to strip citizenship from convicted terrorists, and about 100 have been enacted since 2015. In stark contrast, only 13 were issued from 1979 to 2015. Notably, this year alone has seen 15 orders, while 19 were issued in 2025, 37 in 2024, and 12 in 2023.
A senior official at the Hôtel de Beauvau mentioned that there are “several hundred” additional cases to be addressed in the coming years as convicted terrorists complete their sentences. It’s been noted that approximately 45% of those who have lost their citizenship are French-Moroccan dual nationals, followed by French-Algerians, French-Tunisians, and French-Turks, each making up about 10% of the total cases.
The rise in decrees is attributed to former Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who, now in the role of Justice Minister, played a crucial part in this shift. Initially, President Emmanuel Macron was somewhat resistant to this approach. However, after Darmanin’s appointment in 2020, the government became more proactive on this front. The minister recognized that a large number of dual nationals who had served time for traveling to jihadist territories were soon to be released, creating an urgent need to act, especially with the anticipated releases increasing starting in 2022.
Despite this increase in citizenship revocations, the numbers still fall short when compared to the total of 339 jihadis released from prison since 2021. A significant hurdle is the legal requirement that a convicted terrorist must hold a second nationality to be stripped of French citizenship; otherwise, they could become stateless, which is prohibited by law. This has often exempted individuals born in France from the revocation process.
Complications also arise with cases involving dual-national terrorists who were minors when they traveled to join groups like ISIS, necessitating consultation with the left-leaning Council of State before any action can be taken.
Moreover, revoking citizenship doesn’t guarantee that these individuals will be expelled from France, as residency rights are separate from citizenship. This somewhat benefits the French government by preventing these individuals from appealing to EU courts against family life infringement claims. According to the report, around 60 appeals have been lodged since 2003, all unsuccessful.
However, this means that many of these individuals could remain in France longer than they might have otherwise. The government has faced challenges in deporting criminal migrants, with only 6.9% of deportation orders being executed in 2022.
This situation raises concerns about the potential for renewed terror attacks, particularly given that none of the individuals who had their citizenship revoked between 2023 and 2026 have shown any remorse for their actions. The findings revealed that they remain steadfast in their ideologies and radical beliefs.
France has been notably affected by Islamic terrorism, especially with a substantial Muslim population largely originating from former colonies in North Africa. A report from last year highlighted that the country has experienced almost one deadly terror attack every six months over the past decade. During this time frame, approximately 50 non-fatal attacks have occurred, alongside 80 Islamist plots thwarted by law enforcement.
