“Jihadism is a threat to democracy before being a security threat”

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INTERVIEW. Jihadism specialist Hugo Micheron publishes a new book in which he discusses the spread of jihadism in Europe.

Interview by Clement Petreault

Dince the collapse of Daesh, Islamist terrorism seems to have begun a period of decline… But are we witnessing a lasting decline or a mere lull? And what are the jihadists thinking at the moment? In Anger and Oblivion. Democracies facing European jihadism (Gallimard), researcher Hugo Micheron looks back on the history of European jihadism. In this fascinating and perfectly documented work, he delivers an analysis of the mechanisms of jihadism in calm weather. Interview.

Point : You defend the idea that “jihadism cannot be reduced to attacks”. At the moment, there are no more large-scale attacks. What do jihadists think today?