The grandparents of French children of Islamic State group (IS) fighters are lobbying for their return from Syria and Iraq. But why, they ask, is the government moving so slowly?
france has more nationals in the region than any other Western country. As of November 2017, an estimated 700 French nationals were still fighting with IS in Iraq and Syria.
Nearly 2,000 French citizens are believed to have travelled to join the group during the conflict.
In addition, there are more than 500 children under 18 in the region, dozens of whom are in refugee camps in northern Syria run by France's Kurdish allies.
A few years ago, Chantal, not her real name, received a phone call from her daughter Melanie, saying she was in Syria with her Muslim husband and two children, aged five and under. The decision to go there was apparently made on religious grounds.
“I said, ‘What are you doing in Syria?' I can't believe it. No-one takes their children to a war zone!”
As the war raged on and coalition forces closed in on IS territory, the young family, now with three very young children, began to fear for their lives.
“My son-in-law contacted me to say it was too dangerous, and the children needed to come back,” said…
