"Despite the recent death of its top leader, the Jihadist Islamic State (IS) group is far from being annihilated, and will remain a fearsome enemy for years, officials and experts in Paris warned on Thursday. At the symposium "Threats and Challenges after the Fall of the 'Caliphate'" organized by the Terrorism Analysis Center and Counter Terrorism Project, all expressed their pessimism. 'Is Daesh (IS's Arabic acronym) gone? I don't believe that,' said Gilles de Kerchove, EU coordinator for the fight against terrorism. 'It is an increasingly decentralized organization. Like Al Qaeda, it relies on a number of 'franchises' around the world and is very persistent,' he added."