France Expels Radicalized Foreigners: Hauts-de-Seine Prefect Intensifies Crackdown on Terror Suspects

The two expelled Moroccans had each been sentenced to five years in prison. The first, who was subject to an Obligation to Leave French Territory (OQTF) and a residence order, had been convicted of drug trafficking and insulting a public official. The second had been convicted of criminal conspiracy with a view to preparing a terrorist act. An automatic pistol and several knives had been found at his home, and videos of Islamic State and Al-Qaeda propaganda on his phone, reports Le Parisien.

Also expelled were the Tunisian Mohamed Fahem, a pro-Daesh who had been sentenced to six years in prison for terrorist criminal conspiracy, as well as a Syrian national who had had his refugee status revoked by the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA) last May after a report for viewing Islamic State videos and "speeches concerning prayer".

Since taking office in November 2024, Alexandre Brugère, former chief of staff to former Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, has "made the expulsion of foreigners in an irregular situation who are authors of disturbances to public order a priority". "The priority of priorities are those on the radicalization watchlist (FSPRT)," insists the prefect, who "assumes to be extremely firm in the fight against Islamism". Over the first seven months of 2025, the prefecture carried out more than 370 forced removals, an increase of 61% compared to the first half of 2024 when 230 removal orders had been issued.

The Prefect of Hauts-de-Seine has also carried out 52 downgrades of residence permits (reduction of their validity period), as well as 98 withdrawals or refusals of permits over the first six months of 2025, representing increases of 79% and 16% respectively compared to the same period in 2024. "This is a fight we must wage to guarantee the safety of our compatriots," says Alexandre Brugère.