A source in the French police said on Sunday that the Interior Ministry is preparing to expel 231 foreigners on the government watch list, on suspicion of adopting extremist religious beliefs, two days after the killing of a teacher who offered his students drawings that insult the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin asked local police officials to issue expulsion orders at a Sunday afternoon meeting, the source said.
The police source said that among the total number of suspects, 180 are imprisoned, and 51 others are scheduled to be arrested in the coming hours.
He added that Darmanin also asked the ministry’s agencies to closely examine the applications of those wishing to obtain refugee status in France.
According to the definition of the French government, extremists are "people associated with radicalism, who are more likely to wish to travel abroad to join terrorist groups or participate in terrorist activities."
The killing of a French history teacher against the background of his insulting to the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, has met successive Arab condemnations, also denouncing the permission for insulting the messengers' seal by European country officials, on the pretext of freedom of opinion and expression.