The plan of action presented by Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve aims to "dissuade, prevent and punish" the radicalisation of troubled French youths.
The government estimates that around 300 French nationals or residents are currently enlisted with jihadist groups in Syria, with a further 130 en route to the country and another 130 having already returned.
Twenty-five French people have died in the conflict.
The movement, which has swept along teens as young as 14 – some of whom are recent converts to Islam – has accelerated in recent months, according to the interior ministry.
Didier Francois, one of the four French journalists who were released from captivity in Syria at the weekend after being held for 10 months by a jihadist group, said some of his captors spoke French.
France is particularly fearful of the threat such people pose to national security upon their return. » | DPA/Paris | Wednesday, April 23, 2014
