the Issue is extremely sensitive in France, which has suffered a series of deadly attacks in the IS name. In the beginning of march, the government was ready to receive around 250 men, women and children, but abandoned the plan when the public opinion was strongly against it.

In march, the France, home to five orphaned children to the French jihadists, and Castaner says that it will consider bringing back more, but it depends from case to case.

Up to 1 700 French nationals are believed to have travelled to Iraq and Syria to fight in the jihad page between 2014 and 2018. Around 300 of them are believed to have died in battle.