The 29-year-old French citizen had a long criminal history, with 27 convictions in France, Germany and Switzerland. Authorities confirmed this week that Chekatt was on the “Fichier S” watch list following a period in prison in 2015 — a detail that means it was suspected he had been radicalized and may have been a candidate for surveillance. A number of other terrorism suspects in recent years have been on the list, too.

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But there’s a problem: The recent figures show there are more than 20,000 names on the list. Is it really possible for the French security services to keep tabs on that many people?

What is “Fichier S”?

France’s national police force has kept a file of fugitives, known as the “Fichier des personnes recherchées” (“File of Wanted People” or FPR), since 1969. This list includes hundreds of thousands of names of people wanted for general crimes; a smaller subsection of the list is people who are viewed as a threat to national security and are marked with “S,” which stands for Sûreté de l'État (“state security”).

Placement on the “Fichier S” doesn’t necessarily mean that you have committed a crime or that you are sought for arrest. Those on the list are given a rating between one and 16, however, that may allow the French security services to track you. Being placed on the list is temporary and must be renewed every year; those on the list are not informed of it.

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In theory, the list is not designed to focus specifically on Islamist extremists: A right-wing extremist could end up on the list, for example, or someone involved in organized crime. But Islamist extremists have made up a significant portion of the list. Former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in 2015 that of more than 20,000 names on the list, 10,500 were included for their suspected links to extremist Islamist groups.

The number of names on the list overall appears to be growing. In March, Reuters reported that the list now had more than 25,000 names. The country also started a second list, the “fichier des signalements pour la prévention et la radicalisation à caractère terroriste” (“File for the Prevention of Terrorist Radicalisation” or FSPRT), in 2015. It now has almost 20,000 names itself, though it is likely many overlap with the “Fichier S” list.

Is it effective?

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Chekatt isn’t the first person suspected of a terrorist attack in France who was already on the “Fichier S” list. France has been hit by a considerable number of Islamist inspired terrorist attacks over the past few years, many of which were carried out by people on the list: at least one of the gunmen in the November 2015 attacks in Paris that left more than 130 people dead was included.

The list has repeatedly proved controversial in France, with many observing that its sheer scale means it is impossible for security and intelligence services to track everyone on it. Some French have proposed detention for those suspected of being radicalized, while others have marveled at the scale of the list.

Some terrorism experts say that the list isn’t fundamentally flawed but just a reflection of the realities of extremism. Jean-Charles Brisard, director of the Paris-based Center for the Analysis of Terrorism, has noted that the majority of attacks in France are carried out by people who are not on the “Fichier S," but he argues that doesn’t mean it’s a failure.

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The “Fichier S” lists are “working tools, markers for the intelligence services,” he told Le Figaro this week, noting that there are no legal consequences for being on the list. “We can not lend them a role they do not have.”

There have been similar debates about lists in other countries too. Omar Mateen, who later killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, was at one point of the U.S. Terrorist Screening Database but was later removed from it and was able to buy firearms.

While terrorism is still a threat in France and elsewhere, the atmosphere is less tense than at the height of attacks in 2015 and 2016.