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France could cancel summer events over terror fears

The Local France
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France could cancel summer events over terror fears
Photo: AFP

Towns and villages across France could be forced to cancel summer events if local mayors decide that adequate security cannot be guaranteed.

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France’s interior minister has told local authorities in towns and villages around the country that if security measures are not adequate then they should cancel the event.

Speaking a day after France was rocked by the latest terror attack, Bernard Cazeneuve urged local authorities to work with the police to plan security at events and to decide whether or not they should be cancelled.

“I have asked local authorities that if the conditions are not met so that maximum security can be provided to go ahead and cancel them,” said Cazeneuve.

Meetings will take place in the coming days.

Police chiefs in Paris have already cancelled several events in the French capital this summer including a popular open film festival because they could guarantee sufficient security.

Following the killing of a priest during mass on Tuesday the Bastille Day truck attack in Nice, the French government has however decided to boost the presence of the forces law and order throughout the country.

The government has vowed to protect the 56 main summer events planned in France this summer, including the Bayonne Festival and Paris Plages beach festival, in case they are targeted by terrorists.

Following a cabinet meeting with President François Hollande on Wednesday morning Interior Minister Cazeneuve said some 23,000 police, paramilitaries (gendarmes) and soldiers would be mobilized to provide a security presence on top of the usual police presence.

He urged local authorities to work with the police to plan security at events to decide whether or not they should be cancelled.

Police chiefs in Paris have already cancelled several events in the French capital this summer including the popular open film festival because they could guarantee sufficient security.

The government also decided that the 10,000 soldiers that have been patrolling the streets of towns and cities since the Charlie Hebdo and Jewish supermarket attacks in January 2015 will be spread out to provide a bigger presence in rural areas.

The soldiers would be shifted out of Paris to cover events in towns across France, where large crowds are expected.

The Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced that 9,000 new posts in the security forces would be created before May 2017. 

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