France confirms state of emergency to end July 26th
The Local/AFP - [email protected] •
13 Jul, 2016
Updated Wed 13 Jul 2016 10:13 CEST
France's Justice Minister has announced that the national state of emergency will be over before the end of the month.
France's state of emergency - which came into place with the November terror attacks last year - will be over on July 26th, Justice Minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas told the BFM TV channel on Wednesday.
The state of emergency has been prolonged three times, most recently in May when it was lengthened to cover the Euro 2016 football tournament and the Tour de France, which finishes on July 24th.
The controversial measure has allowed police to hold people under house arrest whose behaviour is considered "a threat to security and public order".
After the 26th, these people will no longer be allowed to be held without the order of a judge, and police will no longer be able to raid suspects' homes without permission from a judge.
The troops that have been deployed at sensitive locations on the streets of France (and especially Paris), will remain.
The effectiveness of the state of emergency was brought into question last week after an inquiry into the November terror attacks and the aftermath.
The inquiry found that the state of emergency and the deployment of thousands of troops to patrol the streets had only a "limited impact" on security.
"The state of emergency had an impact but it seemed to quickly diminish," Socialist lawmaker Sebastien Pietrasanta said of the measure.
The inquiry also questioned the "real added value" of operation Sentinelle, under which thousands of soldiers were deployed to protect schools, synagogues, department stores and other sensitive sites.
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France's state of emergency - which came into place with the November terror attacks last year - will be over on July 26th, Justice Minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas told the BFM TV channel on Wednesday.
The state of emergency has been prolonged three times, most recently in May when it was lengthened to cover the Euro 2016 football tournament and the Tour de France, which finishes on July 24th.
The controversial measure has allowed police to hold people under house arrest whose behaviour is considered "a threat to security and public order".
After the 26th, these people will no longer be allowed to be held without the order of a judge, and police will no longer be able to raid suspects' homes without permission from a judge.
The troops that have been deployed at sensitive locations on the streets of France (and especially Paris), will remain.
The effectiveness of the state of emergency was brought into question last week after an inquiry into the November terror attacks and the aftermath.
The inquiry found that the state of emergency and the deployment of thousands of troops to patrol the streets had only a "limited impact" on security.
"The state of emergency had an impact but it seemed to quickly diminish," Socialist lawmaker Sebastien Pietrasanta said of the measure.
The inquiry also questioned the "real added value" of operation Sentinelle, under which thousands of soldiers were deployed to protect schools, synagogues, department stores and other sensitive sites.
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