Radical Islam In France: Guantanamo-Style Detention Centers For Alleged Terrorists And Extremists Ruled Out

French authorities have ruled out creating Guantanamo Bay-style detention centers for suspected Islamic radicals, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Wednesday. The announcement comes as the nation contends with a growing domestic terror problem, particularly in the wake of a fatal stabbing of two Paris-area police officers Monday night.

"Our first weapon is criminal law, and it is the legitimacy of the rule of law: to pursue, detain and put out of harm's way all those who engage in these [jihadist] networks," Valls said. "[It is] dangerous to confuse measures of surveillance with those of confinement,” he added.

Valls’ statement comes just two days after a French police officer and his partner, who also worked for law enforcement, were stabbed to death at their home west of Paris. They are survived by their 3-year-old son. The perpetrator of the murders had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group terrorist organization.

France had been considering the idea of creating detention centers — dubbed "French Guantanamos" — for people who are suspected of being potential terrorists or are being monitored by intelligence officials. More than 10,000 people throughout the country are categorized as "Fiche S," or a potential security threat. Their offenses range from banditry all the way to terrorism, and not all are being actively monitored by intelligence officials.

The system has faced criticism, particularly after coordinated terror attacks in November killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more in Paris. Those attacks came just three months after a foiled attack on a high-speed train and 10 months after a pair of ISIS-inspired brothers stormed the offices of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, killing 12.

“It's nice to know who's thinking about attacking French soil," Christian Harbulot, a French intelligence and defense expert, told International Business Times after the attempted attack on a high-speed Thalys train in August. But "surveillance alone can accomplish nothing at all."

A system of detention for suspected Islamic radicals already exists in several French prisons. A few dozen of the most radical prisoners are determined by using a set of questions, and they are then confined with each other with the goal of preventing their philosophies from spreading. That system has faced much scrutiny as well, with critics arguing that it only facilitates communication among would-be jihadists.