France will expel hundreds of foreigners on a government watchlist after a teacher was beheaded last week in Paris by an Islamist extremist.
The country’s interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, held a meeting on Sunday where he asked prefects to expel 231 extremists, Europe 1 reported.
France defines extremists as “people who, engaged in a process of radicalisation, are likely to want to go abroad to join terrorist groups or take part in terrorist activities.”
Of the 231 people, 180 of them are currently in prison, and 51 are slated to be arrested, according to a police union source.
The move comes after teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded outside of the school where he worked on Friday.
President Emmanuel Macron called the death an “Islamist terrorist attack.”
Paty, 47, was killed by Abdoulakh Anzorov, a Russian-born 18-year-old, after reportedly showing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in his class.
Thousands took to the streets in response to Paty’s death chanting “Je suis enseignant,” which translates to “I am a teacher.”
“You don’t scare us. We are not afraid. You will not divide us. We are France!” Prime Minister Jean Castex tweeted after the killing.
Anzorov was shot dead by responding officers on Friday and had reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” before killing Paty.
