France targets those who attend foreign 'schools for terror'

PARIS (AFP) - France on Wednesday presented plans for a new anti-terrorism law that will allow authorities to prosecute citizens who attend militant Islamist training camps abroad.

The move comes six months after Mohamed Merah, a French citizen who claimed to have attended Al-Qaeda-style training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan, killed seven people in a wave of shootings in and around Toulouse.

The bill would make terrorism-related crimes committed outside France punishable in the country. Those attending training camps abroad could face up to 10 years' jail for "association with a terrorist enterprise". The changes would also allow authorities to monitor the telecommunications data of the creators of extremist websites.

The plans were presented to Cabinet on Wednesday and President Francois Hollande hopes parliament will adopt them by the end of the year, a government spokesman said.