Although jihadists in the 2015-onward timeframe legitimized their attacks with a narrative of reprisal for France 's participation in the international coalition fighting the Islamic State , Islamic terrorism in France has other , deeper and older causes . The three main reasons France is attacked are , in no particular order : Despite its proximity to the Middle East and North Africa , relatively porous borders , and a large influx of migrants from Muslim majority countries , Italy has not experienced the same surge in radicalization as other European countries . Just 125 individuals with ties to Italy left to join jihadist groups , compared with Belgium 's 470 and Sweden 's 300 such individuals in the same period from their much smaller populations . Since the September 11 attacks in 2001 , there have been a small number of plots either thwarted or failed . Two individuals born in Italy have been involved in terrorist attacks , Youssef Zaghba one of the trio of attackers in the June 2017 London Bridge attack while ISIS sympathizer Tomasso Hosni attacked soldiers at Milan 's Central station in May 2017
2017 London Bridge attack
2017 London Bridge attack
Islamic terrorism