There were 8,250 people who were reported on suspicions of being an Islamist radical in France last year - twice as many as the year before, according to fresh statistics.
The figures come from an official report that was leaked to Le Figaro newspaper and was published on Tuesday.
The report found that the number of people suspected to have become radicalized had doubled from 4,015 in 2014 to 8,250 last year.
Hundreds of radicalized individuals, including women and teenagers, have left France in recent years to fight jihad in the Middle East.
Around 70 percent of the suspected Islamist radicals were male and 80 percent of the cases were deemed to be "serious". The paper added that there was also a hike in the number of women and youths being radicalized.
The figures are based on people identified by police, as well as reports made to a specialist anti-radicalization hotline, which members of the public have been encouraged to use to let authorities know about vulnerable or potentially dangerous individuals. [The Local] Read more
