More than four years after the fall of the Islamic State (IS) group in its last Syrian retreat of Baghouz, in March 2019, which marked the end of the so-called "caliphate," the largest contingent of French jihadists has been removed from the battlefield: Of the 1,490 French sympathizers who joined the Iraqi-Syrian zone, 500 are presumed dead, 300 have been declared missing, 390 adults have returned to France and 130 of them – of which 68 are men – are still being held in Kurdish camps in northeastern Syria or in Iraqi prisons.

But in northwestern Syria, close to the Turkish border, there is a bastion of diehard French jihadist who are still resisting the temptation to leave. Le Monde has learned that there are around 170 French nationals of which 115 are adults – over the age of 13 – living in an enclave of 3,000 square kilometers. It's one of the last to escape Damascus's control. In 2020, a fragile ceasefire was established between Turkey, which has deployed its forces in the region, and Russia, which gives military support to the regime.

It is a stronghold of some 4 million inhabitants, half of them refugees, and run by an Islamist rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Pragmatic and eager to redeem itself in the eyes of the West, the former al-Qaeda subsidiary has broken away from its parent organization and renounced global jihad – a first in the history of the movement – to concentrate on the administration of its stronghold. Numerous insurgents withdrew during the conflict, including several dozen French nationals who today form a small community of some 220 people, including children.

Fearing their dispersal as the Russian-Syrian forces advanced, intelligence services have kept a very close eye on them. Le Monde had access to a rare document, a joint memo from the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE, France's external security agency) and the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Intérieure (DGSI, France's internal security agency) classified top secret, which gives a detailed account of their activities. Through several interviews, Le Monde has been able to update and expand on the information in the memo, which paints a picture of a relocated jihad movement that is focused on the defense and management of the territory it occupies and operating along the lines of a "mini-caliphate."

Given HTS's undivided control over the region, it is difficult to discern the logic of allegiances to other rival groups. However, the French nationals from Idlib can be divided into three groups. About a third has integrated into Syrian society and converted to the local ideals of HTS, which has officially renounced terror. The largest bloc, with around 50 adults, has joined the Firqat al-Ghuraba, the "foreigners' brigade." This independent Salafi group was founded by the Senegalese-born Omar Diaby from Nice, whose agenda is neither Syrian nor international.

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