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France deploys 90,000 police and soldiers for New Year's

Oliver Gee
Oliver Gee - [email protected]
France deploys 90,000 police and soldiers for New Year's
Photo: AFP

French police are taking no chances for New Year's celebrations on Saturday night.

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Authorities announced on Thursday that 90,000 police officers and soldiers would be deployed to keep order on the streets and roads of France.
 
There'll be 52,600 police officers and 36,000 members of the regional gendarmes on the beat around the country. 
 
Around 1,000 troops working under the Sentinelle programme will also be deployed, with authorities expected to announce further details on Friday afternoon. 

Police chiefs said that they'd be extra vigilant around areas that typically draw large crowds.
 
Certain zones will see large concrete barriers put up in an effort to hinder truck attacks like that in Berlin this month, where 12 died, and in Nice earlier this summer, when 84 people died. 
 
Police in Paris have said they will be on the lookout to prevent any cars from being torched, something of a tradition across Paris on New Year's Eve. 
 
They added that they would have a large presence on the Champs-Elysees, which will open to the public at 11pm for a fireworks show at 11.30pm.
 
In Nice, where 84 people were killed in a terror attack this summer, an extra 150 police will be on patrol. 
 
The cities of Strasbourg, Toulouse, and parts of the Paris suburbs will also see an increased police presence. 
 
 

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