A report by France’s upper house Senate said that forty-seven percent of European Takfiris known to have travelled to fight with ISIL in Iraq and Syria are French.

A report by France’s upper house Senate said that forty-seven percent of European Takfiris known to have travelled to fight with ISIL in Iraq and Syria are French.

Just over 1,430 French people have made their way to Iraq and Syria, representing 47 percent of Takfiris from Europe that are known and accounted for, Senator Jean-Pierre Sueur, who spearheaded a parliamentary probe into jihadist networks, told reporters on Wednesday.

According to Sueur, French domestic intelligence services are currently monitoring more than 3,000 people suspected of being involved in one way or another in Syrian networks -- a 24-percent increase since November last year.

Some 85 French nationals are thought to have died as they were fighting in the ranks of ISIL while two are being held in Syria, the report said.

Of particular concern to intelligence services, some 200 have left to come back to France, prompting fears they may stage attacks mirroring the January 7th-9th shooting spree that left 17 dead.