France's interior minister on Wednesday announced a probe into a series of blunders that saw three suspected jihadists waltz out of a French airport after being transferred from Turkish custody.
Authorities were left red-faced after announcing on Tuesday that they had arrested the three on their arrival at Paris's Orly airport.
It later turned out that the men had not landed in Paris at all, but had been put on a flight to the southern city of Marseille where they were -- to their great surprise -- able to walk freely from the airport.
In another snag, passport control failed to flag the men as suspicious, as a security databank was out of order at the time.
The government was however spared further blushes after the men handed themselves over to police on Wednesday.
They were later flown to Paris from Montpellier by the French security services and are due to appear before an anti-terrorist judge.
"There was clearly a massive bungle but it was in large part due to... the absence of proper collaboration with Turkish authorities," Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France Info radio.
The interior ministry claimed the pilot of the Paris-bound flight from Turkey refused to allow the trio on board, so the Turkish authorities then put them on a flight to Marseille.
It insisted that Paris knew nothing of the change until after the men had landed on French soil.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told journalists he had called for an administrative inquiry to "get to the bottom of what happened".
He said he would also soon visit Turkey to avoid a repeat of the "malfunction".
In a speech to parliament, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said: "This affair did not unfold as it should have."
-'Incredible... but true' -
The trio included the 29-year-old brother-in-law of Toulouse jihadist Mohamed Merah, who was shot dead by police after he murdered seven people, including three children, in a 2012 killing spree.
A 27-year-old man previously convicted over terrorism-related charges and links to a jihadist group was also one of the three arrested in Turkey.
One of the trio's lawyers, Pierre Dunac, said the men were not questioned when they landed. "As incredible as it might seem, it's true."
The debacle comes as French tourist Herve Gourdel was beheaded in Algeria by jihadists linked to the Islamic State group, which has itself called for Muslims to kill French citizens. Hundreds of French citizens meanwhile are leaving to fight in Iraq and Syria.
On Friday, France conducted its first air strikes in Iraq against IS.
"We will not be intimidated," Valls said. "We will not fail, we will not tremble. In the face of threats, in the face of blackmail, France will not yield."
- 'Several attacks foiled' -
Critics of an already deeply unpopular government seized on the blunder, saying the jihadists had "made us the laughing stock of the world".
"So we can send planes to Iraq but we can't control our own borders?" said Christian Estrosi, a former government minister with the conservative opposition UMP.
The government hit back, praising security and intelligence services for their work in battling the terrorist threat at home in recent months, notably in countering the recruitment of fighters for Syria.
The prospect of these fighters returning to stage attacks on home soil has France on high alert. Valls said that of 580 French citizens who had gone to fight in Syria, 189 had already come home.
The prime minister said several would-be jihadists, including children, had been blocked from leaving the country, and "several planned attacks" in France foiled.
The three men, suspected of being part of a network that recruited jihadists for Syria, handed themselves over to police in the southwestern city of Toulouse.
One of the three, Imad Jebali, "told us by phone that the pressure was too great," said Pierre Le Bonjour, another lawyer for the suspects.
"Clearly from the start... our clients showed a willingness to explain themselves to police and justice officials," he said.
After Merah's death, it emerged that he had visited Pakistan and Afghanistan prior to his attacks and had been on the radar of French intelligence, who had gravely underestimated the threat he posed.
France’s interior minister on Wednesday announced a probe into a series of blunders that saw three suspected jihadists waltz out of a French airport after being transferred from Turkish custody.
Authorities were left red-faced after announcing on Tuesday that they had arrested the three on their arrival at Paris’s Orly airport.
It later turned out that the men had not landed in Paris at all, but had been put on a flight to the southern city of Marseille where they were — to their great surprise — able to walk freely from the airport.
In another snag, passport control failed to flag the men as suspicious, as a security databank was out of order at the time.
The government was however spared further blushes after the men handed themselves over to police on Wednesday.
They were later flown to Paris from Montpellier by the French security services and are due to appear before an anti-terrorist judge.
“There was clearly a massive bungle but it was in large part due to… the absence of proper collaboration with Turkish authorities,” Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France Info radio.
The interior ministry claimed the pilot of the Paris-bound flight from Turkey refused to allow the trio on board, so the Turkish authorities then put them on a flight to Marseille.
It insisted that Paris knew nothing of the change until after the men had landed on French soil.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told journalists he had called for an administrative inquiry to “get to the bottom of what happened”.
He said he would also soon visit Turkey to avoid a repeat of the “malfunction”.
In a speech to parliament, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said: “This affair did not unfold as it should have.”
-‘Incredible… but true’ –
The trio included the 29-year-old brother-in-law of Toulouse jihadist Mohamed Merah, who was shot dead by police after he murdered seven people, including three children, in a 2012 killing spree.
A 27-year-old man previously convicted over terrorism-related charges and links to a jihadist group was also one of the three arrested in Turkey.
One of the trio’s lawyers, Pierre Dunac, said the men were not questioned when they landed. “As incredible as it might seem, it’s true.”
The debacle comes as French tourist Herve Gourdel was beheaded in Algeria by jihadists linked to the Islamic State group, which has itself called for Muslims to kill French citizens. Hundreds of French citizens meanwhile are leaving to fight in Iraq and Syria.
On Friday, France conducted its first air strikes in Iraq against IS.
“We will not be intimidated,” Valls said. “We will not fail, we will not tremble. In the face of threats, in the face of blackmail, France will not yield.”
– ‘Several attacks foiled’ –
Critics of an already deeply unpopular government seized on the blunder, saying the jihadists had “made us the laughing stock of the world”.
“So we can send planes to Iraq but we can’t control our own borders?” said Christian Estrosi, a former government minister with the conservative opposition UMP.
The government hit back, praising security and intelligence services for their work in battling the terrorist threat at home in recent months, notably in countering the recruitment of fighters for Syria.
The prospect of these fighters returning to stage attacks on home soil has France on high alert. Valls said that of 580 French citizens who had gone to fight in Syria, 189 had already come home.
The prime minister said several would-be jihadists, including children, had been blocked from leaving the country, and “several planned attacks” in France foiled.
The three men, suspected of being part of a network that recruited jihadists for Syria, handed themselves over to police in the southwestern city of Toulouse.
One of the three, Imad Jebali, “told us by phone that the pressure was too great,” said Pierre Le Bonjour, another lawyer for the suspects.
“Clearly from the start… our clients showed a willingness to explain themselves to police and justice officials,” he said.
After Merah’s death, it emerged that he had visited Pakistan and Afghanistan prior to his attacks and had been on the radar of French intelligence, who had gravely underestimated the threat he posed.
