France, Britain Plan Tougher Counterterrorism Measures 

Nearly 200 jihadists imprisoned in France are due to be released over the next two years and French security officials are pressing French lawmakers to approve fresh antiterrorist measures to impose enhanced restrictions on those freed and to give police new legal powers to fight terrorism. 

British officials, likewise, are fearful of a resurgent jihadist threat and are considering overhauling Britain’s 650-year-old treason law to make it easier to prosecute militants returning from Syria and Iraq.   And it is not only returnees from the Levant who are preoccupying European security officials.   During the pandemic jihadist assaults have subsided — the consequence, officials think, of society-wide lockdowns and other travel restrictions that have stymied would-be attackers. The lack of crowds and public events have also deprived militants of high-profile targets. But in the meantime there has been increased activity online by radical Islamists, according to security officials.