France Finds Answers to Radicalization Problem Elusive

Centers like Pontourney in Beaumont-En-Veron, where France opened a reintegration center, were to be set up in every region of France. But that now will not happen: at the end of July, officials said Pontourney is closing.

Pontourney, an idyllic country manor set among vineyards, in Beaumont-En-Veron, France.

Bernard Chateau, the mayor of Beaumont-en-Veron, France, said most people were of a spirit to say, "Why not, let’s try to do something" regarding the government’s plan to open reintegration centers.

Peace activist Latifah Ibn Ziaten, whose son, a French paratrooper, was killed in a 2012 terrorist attack, now lectures school groups. Ibn Ziaten says, "One must look at youth as the future of France. Today, a young person should be followed from nursery school to middle school. What is happening is the opposite. We are focusing on the middle school and by then it is a bit too late."

Young Muslims at risk were brought to Pontourney in Beaumont-en-Veron, France, to sing the French national anthem and be immersed in the secular principles that underpin the French republic.

A play called "Jihad," which tells the story of young Belgian Muslims who are radicalized in Syria, is being performed in France. Adel Djemai, right, says, "The play does not pretend to provide any answers or solutions. But it tries to get the audience to ask the questions about what the essence of what goals these young people have set for themselves and what drives them to do it."

The Loire River Valley, a region known for the world’s finest wines, is where France sought to pioneer its efforts to combat radicalization of Muslim youth, with a reintegration center at Beaumont-En-Veron, France.