About a dozen targets and locations were raided by French elite and anti-terror police units. Most of the cells were identified in the southern region of Toulouse, but the northern province of Normandy and Paris have also been targets for raids, according to the AFP.
The exact number of people placed under arrest has not yet been revealed.
France has become increasingly concerned over growing support of the Islamic State (IS) group among French citizens following the release of a video from an IS affiliate, Hayat Media Center in November. A short clip showed three armed Frenchmen, burning their passports and urging Muslims to join jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq as well as perform attacks in France.
Almost 1,000 French citizens have left to join jihadists in Iraq and Syria, approximately 400 others are currently fighting there and about 50 have been killed, according to French Interior Ministry estimates. The latest UN data shows that some 15,000 foreign fighters have entered Syria since 2011 to join different extremist groups.
