FRANCE TO EXTEND STATE OF EMERGENCY
Paris, 5 Safar 1437/17 November 2015 (MINA) – French President Francois Hollande said he will table a bill to extend the state of emergency by three months in the aftermath of the wave of deadly attacks that killed 129 people so far in Paris.
The bill needs to be examined by parliament, which must, under the French Constitution, validate any extension of the state of emergency beyond 12 days, Anadolu Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
Addressing both houses of parliament — the Senate and the National Assembly — in a rare move at Versailles, the French president said the constitution must be amended to enable a more efficient reaction to acts of war.
“With acts of war on Nov. 13, the enemy has moved a step further. Democracy has the capacity to react. In accordance with these principles, we will provide the means to guarantee the security of these citizens (…) but we must go beyond the urgency.”
“I believe in conscience that we have to change the constitution to allow the public authorities to act in accordance with the rule of law to acts of war,” Hollande said.
The head of state said his country “is at war”.
“France is not engaged in a war of civilizations because these assassins don’t represent a civilization,” he said.
Hollande said the Paris attacks “were planned in Syria and launched from Belgium and perpetrated on our soil”.
He added that French law must allow to strip of their citizenship, binationals who have been found guilty of “violating the values of the Republic”.
“Foreigners who present a security risk must be expelled faster,” he added.
He also vowed that France “will intensify its operations against Daesh in Syria”.
“The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier will leave for the Middle East on Thursday,” Hollande also said.
“The sponsors of the attack in Paris must know that their crimes further strengthen the determination of France to fight and destroy them,” he said.
Hollande indicated he will be meeting his American and Russian counterparts in the coming days to discuss the pooling of their efforts to destroy Daesh.
Hollande said an effective control of EU external borders was needed otherwise there would be return to national borders and “deconstruction of the EU”. He demanded a rapid implementation of “coordinated and systematic controls” of the EU’s internal and external borders.
The French president also stipulated said that 5,000 new police jobs would be created within two years, as well as 2,500 jobs in the judiciary and penitentiary systems.
“This will lead to additional expenses. But the security pact prevails over the stability pact,” he said, referring to the eurozone budget limits.
Hollande’s address to all parliamentarians is the third time a French president has called for such a meeting since 1848 when Charles-Louis Napoleon Bonaparte addressed parliament. The most recent occasion was in 2009, when President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke before the Senate and the National Assembly.
“No barbarians will prevent us from living how we have decided to live. To live fully. Terrorism will never destroy the Republic, because the Republic will destroy terrorism,” concluded Hollande.
The Nov. 13 Paris killings are said to be the worst on European soil since the Madrid train bombings of 2004, in which 191 died.
The French president said 19 nationalities were among the victims of Paris attacks. (T/P010/R03)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
