France extends state of emergency, giving police new powers

France has approved a three-month extension of the state of emergency, giving sweeping powers to police investigators following the worst terror attacks in its history.

The exceptional measure, prolonged until February, was backed by all but seven votes in the National Assembly on Thursday. It is expected to pass in the Senate by the end of the week.

“It’s the response of a strong France, which does not bend and will never bend,” Manuel Valls, prime minister, told lawmakers. “It’s the quick response of a democracy to barbarity.”

The state of emergency, called by President François Hollande in the early hours of Saturday as Islamist suicide bombers targeted bars, the Stade de France and the Bataclan theatre in Paris, is the linchpin of wide ranging security measures intended to contain the terror threat on French soil.

Eleven months after satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket were struck by Islamist extremists, the country is still scrambling to adapt to the risk of mass terrorism.

The state of emergency was first enacted in 1955, when France confronted terrorism during Algeria’s independence war, and used again in 2005 following the riots that rocked Parisian suburbs. It allows police officers to search homes and more easily place suspects under house arrest.

In depth

Paris attacks

A state of emergency has been declared in France after a series of co-ordinated terrorist attacks in the capital. The government has responded with a series of police raids and stepped up air strikes against Isis in Syria

Further reading

Since Friday night, when Islamist terrorists killed 129 and injured more than 350 in the French capital, authorities have led more than 400 house searches. As a result, investigators have placed more than 60 individuals in custody and found 75 weapons, including 11 heavy weapons. More than 110 house arrests have been imposed.

The clause has been widened to make it more effective, Mr Valls said.

“We’re enlarging the possibility to use it, not just for proven dangerous activities, but also for threats stemming from serious suspicions,” the French premier said.

Police will be able, for example, to place under house arrest individuals flagged for “their behaviours or their acquaintances, their comments or projects.”

The move comes four months after the French government passed a law designed to enhance the intelligence services’ capabilities, particularly for intercepting communications. In addition, President Hollande has approved the hiring of 5,000 additional police officers, 2,500 judicial investigators and 1,000 custom officers, while also reversing a plan to cut jobs in the military — measures that the government says will cost an estimated €600m.

Intelligence experts warn, however, that the police forces will operate under extreme strain for several years despite the measures.

New recruits required at least two years of training, Bernard Squarcini, France’s former chief spy, said, suggesting that the government would have to tap into existing resources.

“They will be operational in five years’ time,” Mr Squarcini said. “In the meantime, what do we do?”