France Establishes First Of Many New Deradicalisation "Boot-Camps" In Rural Village

It's not as quaint as it sounds.

The community of rural Beaumont-en-Véron in Central France has expressed concerns over a newly-established deradicalisation centre, which will house up to twenty-five men and women deemed by authorities to have the potential to become violent extremists.

Over the coming months, France will be home to over a dozen similar centres specifically designed to deradicalise potential extremists, Sky News reports.

French security officials have classified more than 15,000 individuals as "extremists".

The innocuous title of "centre" is probably a touch misleading, considering they have been described as "US style boot-camps".

Despite the white-picket fence facade, these quaint, rural retreats will host an iron fist approach to radicalisation. "Residents" will be required to wear uniforms and stick to regimented structures.

The new centres signify a radical change in how France is coping with extremism following a spate of recent terror attacks.

France's head of deradicalisation, Muriel Domenach, told Sky News, "we don't claim that this is a one-size-fits-all sort of response. But it's a different approach," adding, "radicalisation has brought a phenomenon now being faced by many countries, each with their own ways of fighting against crime."

"The most irresponsible act would be doing nothing".

Attitudes from the French far-right wing have gained incredible momentum in recent times of heightened terror concern, with many progressive thinkers worried about how increasing militarisation will lead to more social division and conflict. These clashing ideas have resulted in protests like Stand Up To Racism, which criticise the Islamaphobic rhetoric employed by those who strongly identify with the far-right.

Outside French Embassy protesting against French attacks on civil liberties & islamaphobia @AntiRacismDay pic.twitter.com/UzUvcfTY2Y

— Fevzi Hussein (@fevzihussein) 26 August 2016

Dr Erin Saltman, a counter extremism researcher, echoes this concern in relation to the new boot-camps.

She tells Sky the French approach is extremely different to those taken by other European countries, insisting that what we're seeing in France is "actually much more of a militaristic approach to deradicalisation," which is "not very holistic".

Photo: iStock.