Whilst it would seem easier to organise an attack on a train,⁽¹⁾ terrorist attack in the air is still the focus of interest of security services. As a result of this attempt, a reinforcement of passenger control measures was announced. Existing measures are not in question, but their application and their relevance need rethinking after a number of dysfunctions. Security automation and technical solutions are at their limits here. One can legitimately query the lack of coordinated exploitation by the security services of the warning concerning the author, who had after all been denounced by his father. Is it enough to focus on reinforced technical control measures in airports and on board aircraft? The 25 December incident should not blind us to the existence of vulnerabilities that justify a posture of dynamic prevention and a careful application wherever it is necessary for systemisation not to become mere routine. And so a degree of randomness in controls and specific procedures that are difficult to anticipate is to be encouraged.

Prevention, Awareness and Anticipation: the Mechanisms of a Readiness to act

The profile of the author of the failed attempt reveals that a person who appears perfectly integrated into the Western way of life and with a high level of intelligence can switch, after a radicalisation process, to a readiness to act. Such characteristics show that vigilance must be exercised, even in circumstance that may seem perfectly normal.

If the armed forces contribute indirectly to the pacification of hearts and minds and to the battle against the radicalisation of individuals in the operations they conduct, it is essential to link defence and security on a day-to-day basis. To this end, ministries should participate in the academic world’s studies and research on the question of religion and its influence, notably with the institutions which explore potentially important strategic challenges. The combined efforts of players like the Directorate for Strategic Affairs (DAS) or the Strategic Research Institute at the École Militaire (IRSEM) to gather together a network of researchers at the European level in security, defence and terrorism questions is also to be encouraged. There is a need for airing well-founded and audible argument with a greater awareness of the mechanisms that lead to radicalisation. The 2006 White Paper France faced with terrorism insists that the struggle against terrorism is the concern of every citizen, and of every sector of public life, and demands, particularly, grass-roots action against terrorism by winning the ideological war. In this war there are huge areas still to be explored.