- Bernard Cazeneuve said 17 attacks have been thwarted in France so far this year
- Added it is ‘absolutely necessary’ to extend state of emergency in place there
- Seven month extension in place to ensure highest possible level of protection
- The newly appointed prime minister said the ‘terrorist threat’ remains ‘at a particularly high level’ in France and neighbouring European countries
The French prime minister has said it is ‘absolutely necessary’ to extend the state of emergency in place there since the Paris attacks.
Bernard Cazeneuve said 17 attacks have been thwarted in France so far this year and he is proposing Parliament extend the state of emergency until July 15 – the day after Bastille day and the one year anniversary of the terrorist attack in Nice.
Speaking after an extraordinary cabinet meeting, he said Parliament will vote on the bill next week.
Bernard Cazeneuve said 17 attacks have been thwarted in France so far this year and he is proposing Parliament extend the state of emergency until July 15 next year
July 15 is the day after Bastille day and the one year anniversary of the terrorist attack in Nice when Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel delibrately drove a 19-tonne lorry in to crowds
People were taking part in Bastille Day celebrations on the Promenade des Anglais when the attack took place
He said the seven month extension is necessary to ensure the highest possible level of protection in the country in the context of next spring’s presidential and general elections.
Mr Cazeneuve said the electoral period with multiple political meetings and gatherings may increase the risk of attacks by ‘those who want to strike our democratic values and republican principles at the heart’.
The newly appointed prime minister said the ‘terrorist threat’ remains ‘at a particularly high level’ in France and neighbouring European countries.
The threat – he described as an ‘imminent peril’ – is still closely linked to the actions of the Islamic State group, he said.
Mr Cazeneuve said the state of emergency has ‘fully proven its effectiveness’ with 4,194 house searches leading to 517 suspects arrested, 434 kept in custody and almost 600 firearms seized, including 77 ‘weapons of war’, over the last year in France.
He said some 700 French citizens or foreigners who used to live in France are now in Iraq and Syria, that 222 have already died there and more than 2,000 are involved in jihadi networks, including those returning from that region, those hoping to go and those still ‘in transit’.
Next week’s vote in Parliament will be the fifth extension since a state of emergency was declared in France the day after the Paris attacks that left 130 people dead on November 13 2015. The attacks have been claimed by Islamic State.
