Some 1,400 people living in France have joined or plan to battle alongside militants in Syria and Iraq, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said. The number of French jihad followers has risen by at least 200 people in the past month.
"There are 1,400 individuals who are involved in the departures for jihad, for terrorism, in Syria and in Iraq," Valls told BFMTV.
"There are close to 70 French citizens or residents in France who have died in Syria and Iraq in the ranks of the terrorists," he added.
In December, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told the nation's parliament that around 1,200 French citizens had left to fight alongside Islamists, and 390 were members of radical groups in the region.
"It is a massive jump in very little time: there were just about 30 cases when I became interior minister [in mid-2012], and 1,400 today," said Valls.