GETTY France is in a state of emergency after 21 terror attacks in less than two years

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And worryingly they say they pose a threat to the wider community following terror attacks that have wreaked havoc across the Republic. According to the Sunday newspaper Le JDD, the youngest of the 1,954 children on the list is just 11 years old. French authorities began tracking people on a database in March of 2015 following the Charlie Hebdo attacks and shootings at a kosher market in January of that year that killed 17 people.

GETTY French police say 15,000 people including almost 2000 children are on their watch list

France is under a state of emergency, and it is the duty of the state to give us access to the ‘S’ list Mayor Guy Lefrand

However that did not prevent the subsequent co-ordinated attacks in Paris in November of last year which killed 130 or the horrifying slaughter of 86 people at the Bastille day celebrations in Nice in July. There has been a total of 21 terror attacks across the country since December 2014 sparking widespread anger and a backlash against French president Francois Hollande. Now special forces are said to believe that at least 4,000 of these individuals pose a significant threat to society and are being tracked on a daily basis by the Directorate of Internal Security.

While the Central Territorial Intelligence department is following the remainder of those identified as being at threat to the state. Authorities say the majority of the people being watched live on the outskirts of the country's cities in urban areas. They are largely delinquents, with drug and alcohol addictions who experience problems with their own families. Authorities also say that the majority of the young people being tracked have a low attainment level.

GETTY French President Francois Hollande and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve

GETTY Police have confirmed that 15,000 people are being watched after 21 terror attacks

The majority of the people being watched are men aged between 18 and 25 and are said to be "psychologically confused." The majority of the children being monitored are girls with the youngest being of primary school age. Last week French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy said authorities had also identified 17 young people who had fled France to fight in Syria. French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said he will refuse to pass on the names of those identified as a threat on to local authorities because it is unconstitutional.

GETTY Police in France are looking into the activities of 15,000 people

He confirmed that 355 people have been arrested in connection with terror networks in the country since January however he guaranteed them anonymity until the outcome of their trials. He said: "We must find a way that allows mayors to be involved in the process of prevention of radicalisation and which does not hamper the efficiency of the intelligence services. "[We cannot] detain individuals who have committed no crime just because they have caught attention, it is ineffective and unconstitutional."

Bastille Day Massacre: 84 dead Sat, July 16, 2016 84 people have been killed and 100 more injured in the southern French city of Nice after a lorry was 'deliberately driven' into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in a confirmed terrorist attack. Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 25 French President Francois Hollande giving a statement following the attack in Nice, during a national television address in Paris