PARIS -- French police arrested eight people suspected of having ties with networks recruiting young French nationals for jihad in Syria, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Tuesday.

"The arrested people are suspected of belonging to a jihadist network and actively participating in the recruitment of French youth for jihad in Syria," the minister said.

The suspects, aged between 21 and 46, were arrested in the northern suburbs of Paris and Lyon in southeastern France, he added.

The group comprising seven men and a woman was placed in custody and can be held for up to 96 hours.

"About a month after the attacks that hit Paris, this operation is a new show of the determination of our forces to fight against terrorism," Cazeneuve stressed.

Some 1,300 people living in France have either joined fighters in Syria and Iraq or are planning to do so, according to official figures.

The latest anti-terrorism operation came after the ruling Socialists unveiled a package of tough security measures after the Paris attacks last month in which 17 people were killed.