Opération Sentinelle is a French military operation with 10,000 soldiers and 4,700 police and gendarmes deployed since the aftermath of the
January 2015 Île-de-France attacks
From 7 to 9 January 2015, terrorist attacks occurred across the Île-de-France region, particularly in Paris. Three attackers killed a total of 17 in four shooting attacks, and police then killed the three assailants. The attacks also wounded 22 ...
, with the objective of protecting the deemed sensitive "points" of the territory from
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
. It was reinforced during the
November 2015 Paris attacks, and is part of a
state of emergency in France due to continued terror threats and attacks,
until the state of emergency ended on 1 November 2017.
Background
Opération Sentinelle was first deployed after the January 2015 Île-de-France attacks, and was reinforced following the November 2015 Paris attacks, attacks which were claimed to have been perpetrated by the
Islamic extremist
Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic und ...
groups
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ( ar-at, تنظيم القاعدة في جزيرة العرب, Tanẓīm al-Qā‘idah fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, lit=Organization of the Base in the Arabian Peninsula or , ''Tanẓīm Qā‘idat al-Jihād fī Jaz ...
and
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
. A
number of other attacks have taken place in France since these attacks.
Other European countries have also deployed soldiers to protect certain areas due to terror threats or attacks, including in Belgium, Italy, and the United Kingdom (
Operation Temperer).
Attacks against soldiers
On at least six occasions, soldiers involved in the nationwide operation have themselves been targeted.
Soldiers deployed under Opération Sentinelle on 3 February 2017 blocked the assailant in the
Louvre machete attack
On 3 February 2017, an Egyptian national in France on a tourist visa was shot as he rushed a group of French soldiers guarding a principal entrance to the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, with a machete. One soldier was injured in the fight. The so ...
from entering the museum, where he claims to have intended to deface art with spray paint as a symbolic attack on France; he attacked the patrolling soldiers with a machete.
In the
March 2017 Île-de-France attacks, two Opération Sentinelle soldiers at
Orly Airport
Paris Orly Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Orly), commonly referred to as Orly , is one of two international airports serving the French capital, Paris, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly ...
killed a man who said "I am here to die for Allah" while he beat to the floor another member of their team, a soldier from whom the attacker intended to steal her assault rifle.
On 9 August 2017 in
Levallois-Perret
Levallois-Perret () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies some from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of the French capital. It is the most densely populated ...
, six soldiers of the
35th Infantry Regiment participating in Opération Sentinelle were intentionally wounded by an automobile whose driver fled. The military did not get the chance to use their weapons in-time.
See also
*
Operation Vigilant Guardian – Belgian equivalent
*
Operation Temperer – British equivalent
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sentinelle, Operation
2010s in Paris
Counterterrorism in France
Islamic terrorism in France
January 2015 Île-de-France attacks
Military operations involving France
November 2015 Paris attacks
Police raids on Islamists