France on high alert over fears Islamic extremists are ‘infiltrating police ranks’ as it’s claimed 16 police officers have joined ISIS

TOP cops and military chiefs in France have got their internal affairs department's on alert after it emerged Islamists were trying to infiltrate their ranks.

The depth of the concern was revealed in a book published yesterday which claims at least 16 French police officers have joined ISIS.

The book, titled Ou Sont Passes Nos Espions? (Where Have Our Spies Gone?), additionally claims around a dozen soldiers have joined the jihadi group.

It also highlighted the difficulty the country is having imposing its secular policies on the Muslim minority.

Police officers like all public employees are barred from wearing religious symbols while on duty .

This ban prohibits everything from crucifix necklaces to the Islamic veil.

Those who breach this rule are classified as radical extremists.

But routine checks have found extremist views amongst the ranks of the gendarmes.

France is still reeling from a string of terror attacks which have left 238 people dead in the country in the last two years.

An internal report for the Direction of Neighbourhood Security in Paris, leaked to the writers of the book, states that 17 cops had broken the secular directive between 2012 and 2015.

Sixteen were Muslims who infringed the code including a female officer who refused to respect a minutes silence for the Charlie Hebdo victims in January 2015.

When asked to give a reason for her failure to observe the silence she sent an email saying "It is Islam which is going to dominate the world".

Another woman officer was given a ten month suspended prison sentence for posting on her Facebook page that she was ashamed to where the gendarme's uniform.

She wrote: "I am ashamed to wear the blue (of the French police). If I were the terrorists I would have blown up the Elysee and all the b******s who work there a long time ago."

A third Islamic officer arrived for a medical wearing a hijab and was told to remove it by a police doctor.

She later posted on Facebook: "It's time for Muslims to fight. We have had enough of these Zionists who trouble our lives. They are rats."

The policewoman has been subjected to a disciplinary procedure but has been on sick leave since February 2015.

The one instance of the 17 which did not involve a Muslim was a Jewish officer who refused to work on the Sabbath.