Category Archives: France

France Votes to Extend State of Emergency by Six Months

France’s National Assembly voted this month in order to extend the state of emergency for six months. The move follows the attack in Nice in which 84 people were killed and scores injured when a lorry was driven into crowds. It also comes after President Francois Hollande stated earlier this month, and prior to the attack in Nice, that he did not intend to extend the state of emergency beyond 26 July.

The latest extension effectively brings the state of emergency until the end of January 2017. It is the fourth extension that France’s parliament has proposed and the move must be approved by the Senate. The last extension was to cover the Euro 2016 football tournament and the end of the Tour de France cycling race.

As France continues to grapple with the growing threat from jihadist militants, Prime Minister Manuel Valls has warned that France must expect more deadly attacks despite precautions taken by his government. Speaking at the debate in the National Assembly, Valls stated that France would have to learn to live with the threat. He went on to say that “even if these words are hard to say, its my duty to do so…There will be other attacks and there will be other innocent people killed. We must not become accustomed, we must never become accustomed, to the horror, but we must learn to live with this menace.”

The state of emergency was initially brought in after terror attacks occurred in Paris in November 2015, in which 130 people were killed. That attack was claimed by the so-called Islamic State (IS) group. The emergency measures give the police additional powers to carry out searches and to place people under house arrest.

Questions however have emerged over what impact the emergency measures have had on the country. A recent commission of inquiry found that the state of emergency was only having a “limited impact” on improving security. It further questioned the deployment of between 6,000 and 7,000 soldiers to protect schools, synagogues, department stores and other sensitive sites.

French Authorities Identify Leader of 13 November Terror Attacks.

French authorities have disclosed that they have identified the commander of the 13 November 2015 Islamist militant attacks in Paris. They have further disclosed that Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was cornered and killed by police just days later, played a lesser role in the attacks.

Newly published official documents cite testimony by Bernard Bajolet, France’s head of external security, to a closed-door parliamentary inquiry into France’s anti-terrorism activities on 24 May. Bajolet however did not identify who authorities now think was the commander, nor did he disclose whether the person is alive or dead.

Abaaoud was initially described as the leader of the machinegun and suicide bomb attacks on the Bataclan music hall, Paris bars and restaurants, and the Stade de France, in which 130 people were killed. During the inquiry, Bajolet is quoted as stating, “it is true that Abaaoud was a coordinate, but he was not the commander…We know who the commander is, but I will stay discreet on that point,” adding, “we now have a good knowledge of the organogram…We have made progress on these subjects, we therefore have an idea of the identity of the commander.”

Last week, Parliament published recommendations of the inquiry, and on Tuesday 12 July, it released its full report.

IS Urged Vehicle-Ramming Attacks in 2014

In an audio recording two years ago, the so-called Islamic State (IS) group urged its followers to attack French people with vehicles.

A speech from the jihadists’ group’s spokesman, Abu Mohammed al Adnani, encouraged devotees to turn to more basic methods of terrorism if they were unable to obtain guns or explosives. In the recording, he stated, “if you are not able to find a bomb or a bullet, then smash his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or crush him with your car, or throw him down a high place, or choke him, or poison him.” In his remarks, Adnani singled out “the spiteful French” amidst a long list of enemies, which was topped by “the disbelieving American” and their allies.

His September 2014 speech came shortly after a US-led coalition, which included France, launched airstrikes against the jihadist group’s strongholds. A month later, a man rammed his car into two Canadian soldiers in Quebec, killing one of them, in an attack that may have been inspired by Adnani’s recording. In December 2014, a man rammed a van into a crowd of shoppers at a Christmas market in Nantes, injuring nearly twenty people. That incident came just days after another driver rammed pedestrians in the central French city of Dijon, wounding about a dozen. However in both incidents, police refrained from calling the Dijon and Nantes incidents attacks because they said that both individuals had a history of psychiatric illness.

The method has become more common in various parts of the world, however many of the vehicles involved in such attacks are usually rigged with large bombs. In June 2007, two men in a burning jeep smashed into the main terminal at Scotland’s Glasgow Airport. One of the men was later jailed for life, with the judge describing him as a “religious extremist.”

France Attacked Again

On Thursday 14 July, Bastille Day in France, at least 84 people, including several children, were killed and dozens more hurt after a man drove a lorry into crowds who had gathered to celebrate along the famous Promenade Des Anglais in the French seaside city. Some 202 people were injured in the attack, with 52 in critical condition, of whom 25 are on life support.

Attacker Identified

The driver of the lorry has since been identified as Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, 31. French prosecutors have disclosed that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had driven the 19-tonne lorry 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) along the Promenade des Anglais and fired at police with a 7.65 mm calibre automatic pistol when the vehicle was close to the Negreco hotel. He continued for another 300 m, where his vehicle was stopped near the Palais de la Mediterranee hotel, where he was shot dead by police.   Weapons found inside the lorry were replicas or fake and included an ammunition magazine, a fake pistol, replica Kalashnikov and M16 rifles, and a dummy grenade. There was also a bicycle, empty pallets, documents and a mobile phone. The attack occurred at about 22:45 local time (20:45 GMT).

According to French Prosecutor Francois Molins, a search of Lahouaiej-Bouhlel’s Nice home has been carried out and a number of items have been seized. Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a chauffer and delivery man, had three children but had separated from his wife, who was taken into police custody on Friday. The prosecutor added that while he was known to the police as a petty criminal, he was “totally unknown to intelligence services…and was never flagged for signs of radicalization.”

While Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve stated that he could not confirm links to jihadism, Prime Minister Manuel Valls later told France 2 television that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was a “terrorist without doubt linked to radical Islamism in one way or another.”

Tunisian security sources have disclosed that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel came from the Tunisian town of Msaken, adding that he visited the North African country frequently, the last time being eight months ago. Justice Minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas has disclosed that the suspect had been given a suspended sentence earlier this year following a confrontation with another driver, adding that this was his only conviction.

Since Friday, five people believed to be linked to Lahouaiej-Bouhlel have been taken into police custody. According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, three arrests were made on Saturday and two on Friday, including Lahouaiej-Bouhlel’s estranged wife.

IS Claims Responsibility

On 16 July, the so-called Islamic State (IS) group claimed reasonability for the attack in Nice. The jihadist-linked Amaq news agency quoted an IS security source as stating that one of its “soldiers” carried out the atrocity “in response to calls to target nations of coalition states that are fighting (IS).”

President Francois Hollande, who arrived in Nice on Friday, stated that Thursday’s attack was of “an undeniable terrorist nature,” warning that the battle against terrorism would be long, as France faced an enemy “that will continue to attack those people and those countries that count liberty as an essential value.” President Hollande further disclosed that the attack was carried out “to satisfy the cruelty of an individual or possibly a group” and that many of the victims were foreigners and young children, adding “we will overcome the suffering because we are a united France.

A state of emergency, which has been in place since the November 2015 Paris attacks, has been extended by three months. It was due to end at the end of this month. This means that police and soldiers will continue to be on the streets, guarding key buildings. It also means that scanners and metal arches will be placed at some shops and regular bag searches will be carried out. Gendarme reserves have been called up in support. There are already tighter checks at France’s borders.

France however is under scrutiny that a terrorist attack has occurred while the country was under an emergency state. Security services have denied that they relaxed after the Euro 2016 football tournament, which concluded on 10 July, and there has been praise for the relentless job that they have done in recent months and for the speed of their reaction during the attack in Nice. While intelligence gathering has improved, predicting and preventing every attack is impossible, with some questioning whether even a state of emergency is an effective level of response. In the wake of the attack in Nice, French authorities have warned that they are going to have to live with terrorism.

The Controversy over Calais’s Migrant Camp

8 July, 2016

Over 3000 migrants currently live in a make-shift camp near the French town of Calais. That camp and others across northern France have long been a source of tension between the French and UK Governments. Since the Sangatte Protocol came into effect in 1993, France and the UK have conducted Eurotunnel immigration checks at the point of origin instead of at the destination. In 2000, the immigration agreement was expanded to Belgium, allowing checkpoints to be established for the Eurostar and specific English Channel ferry crossings. In recent years, the United Kingdom has invested heavily in the northern France checkpoints due to migrants hiding in commercial trucks crossing the border and attempting to walk through the Eurotunnel. In 2014, the UK Government announced £12m over three years for increased security at Calais. This was followed by a further UK-France agreement in August 2015 to create a command-and-control centre and deploy hundreds more police officers.

The United Kingdom’s referendum on EU membership has placed new strains on the series of agreements with France. Before the vote, in May 2016, France’s Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron had warned that a victory for the leave campaign would threaten the immigration agreements between the 2 countries. This statement was later contradicted by French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayraul. After the referendum occurred, he promised that there would be no sudden reversal of the current policy. However, many local politicians in northern France, specifically Calais Mayor Natacha Bouchart, have argued that the current approach is no longer sustainable. There appears to be a growing movement of people along France’s north coast who believe the migrant camps should be officially moved to the UK. In a significant recent development, French presidential candidate Alain Juppé has been campaigning on an end to the treaty. Xavier Bertrand, president of the Hauts-de-France region, had argued that such a position could gain considerable support from centrist and centre-right voters.

It is unlikely that any change to the UK-France border agreements will happen in the short-term. France’s governing Socialist Party remains committed to the policy. But over the longer term, France’s 2017 Presidential elections are a reminder that this controversy is far from over.