Small French town Lunel's oversized jihadist recruitment

[World News]

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For insight into why France is increasingly worried about large sections of its society becoming fertile turf for jihadist recruiters, the southern town of Lunel offers a singular example. On Tuesday, five people were arrested around Lunel by authorities investigating the departure of about 20 residents from the suburban Montpellier town to join Islamist fighters in Syria. Since October, six have been killed in Syria or neighbouring Iraq, French authorities said. The relatively large number of jihadist recruits from the small southern town of just 26,000 people has made Lunel an outsized example of the security threat that the entire nation faces -- one France became acutely aware of following the January 7-9 attacks in Paris that left 17 people dead.

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