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France to deploy 8,000 police along borders

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France to deploy 8,000 police along borders

Thousands of police on the borders and no cars in Paris - these were the main initiatives announced by France to ensure security at the COP 21 climate summit next week.

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France will deploy nearly 11,000 police for the climate summit in Paris, which begins a little more than two weeks after the
city's terror attacks, the interior minister said Wednesday.

Bernard Cazeneuve said 8,000 police and gendarmes would be posted to carry out border checks and 2,800 would be deployed at the conference venue north of Paris.

As well as the reinforced police numbers several other measures will be taken to ensure security in Paris during the conference.

Cazeneuve called on Parisians not to drive their cars on Sunday or Monday, when the conference will open. And major roads will also be completely closed off at certain times to allow the world leaders to travel to and from the site.

The A1, the A16 and sections of the western périphérique ring road will be particularly affected.

It is essential that there is a general mobilisation and the message as of today and over the coming days is for people not to use their cars for several hours on Sunday and Monday,” Cazeneuve said.

To encourage people not to use their cars Paris authorities will make public transport free on Sunday and Monday.

“These are exceptional measures,” said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

The map below gives idea of which roads will be affected by the security measures. A more detailed map and key is available here.

With the country on high alert, the government has also banned major demonstrations by environmental groups that were planned for this Sunday and December 12.

Cazeneuve welcomed the cooperation of the march organisers, saying they had shown "a remarkable spirit of responsibility".

The COP21 climate conference begins on Monday at Le Bourget, to the north of Paris.

Still reeling from the worst terrorist attacks in French history, Paris will host 147 world leaders gathering next week to spearhead a climate pact tasked with keeping Earth liveable for humanity.

US President Barack Obama has urged others to follow his example and come to the French capital to show that "a handful of killers does not stop the world from doing vital business."

And speaking on a visit to the White House President François Hollande said holding the COP 21 summit would be the perfect response to show that France would not be cowed by terrorism.

No heads of state or government backed out of the November 30 opening after jihadist assaults killed 130 people just over a week ago, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Saturday.

"On the contrary, some who had not yet responded have said they will come exactly because we cannot give in to terrorism," he said.

Preoccupied by a recent spate of extremist attacks around the globe, world leaders will have their work cut out for them at the 12-day climate huddle.

The highly-anticipated conference is tasked with fixing a problem that threatens the very well-being of our species: global warming.

After six years of preparatory negotiations, the 195 nations gathering under the UN flag remain sharply divided on a raft of intertwined issues.

 

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