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French police to get more guns and vests

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French police to get more guns and vests

The French government has announced that it will send out an additional 4,000 handguns and 8,000 bulletproof vests to aid the national police force as the dust settles after the Paris terror attacks.

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France's Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve left a meeting with the heads of police unions on Monday to announce the move, adding in a statement that it was intended "to improve the working conditions and to protect the staff".
 
It will be funded by a €233 million cash injection to the Interior Ministry, part of Prime Minister Manuel Valls' counter-terrorism plan. He announced last week that a total of €425 million would be invested over the next three years, to be spent on "loans, equipment, and operations".
 
Additional funds would be put into improving radio communication between national and municipal police. 
 
The announcement about the extra police protection comes almost three weeks after two police officers were fatally shot in the Paris terror attacks, where 15 other people were killed. 
 
France has already bolstered security efforts since the shootings, with extra police and soldiers deployed across the country at other potential terrorist targets, including tourist hot-spots and places of worship.
 
Shortly after the attacks, the government sent out nearly 5,000 security forces and police to protect the 700 Jewish schools in the country.
 

Security was also tightened outside Jewish schools in 2012 after the attack by Mohamed Merah that left three dead. Photo: AFP
 
 
 
 
 

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