The trial, which concluded last week with convictions for everyone, brought to light one of France’s paradoxes when it comes to handling such cases.

The government wants to prosecute terrorism suspects, hoping to prevent them from falling through legal cracks and trying to piece together how the networks operated for evidence in future trials against the living.

But it does not want the trials conducted on its territory.

Since 2018, France has instead been at the forefront of the European negotiations with the Iraqi government to have European jihadists tried there, with only modest success.

With public opinion firmly against bringing home those who left to fight with the Islamic State, France has agreed to take back only some of its jihadists. The country was a significant provider of foreign Islamic State fighters, with around 1,000 people estimated to have left to join the militant group from 2012 to 2015.

Jean-Charles Brisard, director of the Center for the Analysis of Terrorism, a Paris-based research organization, said about 80 French Islamic State fighters were still detained in Iraq and Syria.