To spend an extra 600 million Euros on security next year
Paris : Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned of the danger of an attack in France using ‘chemical or biological weapons’, in a speech to lawmakers debating the extension of a state of emergency on Thursday.
“We must not rule anything out,” Valls said. “There is also the risk from chemical or biological weapons,” he added. As the investigation spreads across Europe into the attacks claimed by the Islamic State group, Valls also called on the European Union (EU) to urgently adopt measures to share airline passenger information.
“More than ever, it’s time for Europe to adopt the text… to guarantee the traceability of movements, including within the union. It’s a condition of our collective security,” he said. Meanwhile, police in France are going to be allowed to carry weapons when they are off duty, according to a directive from police commanders issued on Thursday.
France stated that it will spend an extra 600 million euros (USD 641 million) next year to ramp up security after the Paris attacks. President Francois Hollande announced this week that France is freezing plans to cut troop numbers through 2019. At the same time, the country will add 8,500 law enforcement jobs including 5,000 new police. The extra security measures would lead to an extra expense of 600 million euros in 2016, Finance Minister Michel Sapin told the Senate. They will be allowed to use their guns in the event of a terror attack providing they wear a police armband to avoid ‘any confusion’, according to the note seen by AFP says.
At least 129 people were killed in shootings and suicide bombings in the French capital on Friday, targeting a concert hall, bars and restaurants and the Stade de France national stadium.
Meanwhile, the body of the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, has been identified among those killed in a police raid, the prosecutor’s office stated on Thursday.
“Abdelhamid Abaaoud has just been formally identified… as having been killed during the raid” in a northern Paris suburb on Wednesday, the prosecutor said in a statement.
