
French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that he would step up border security in the wake of several terror attacks, including a knife rampage in a Nice church blamed on a Tunisian migrant.
During a visit to the border between France and Spain, Macron announced that the number of border guards would be doubled to 4,800 from 2,400"because of the worsening of the threat" from terrorism.
Macron alsocalled for a strengthening of border controls in the European Union's Schengen zone following recent Islamist attacks in France and Austria.
The increased controls would target illegal immigration amid "a growing terrorism threat", he said.
"I am in favour of an in-depth re-foundation of Schengen to re-think its organisation and beef up our common border security," Macron added.
France, home to Europe's largest Muslim community, has been hit by a string of militant attacks in recent years.
A knife-wielding Tunisian man shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) beheaded a woman and killed two other people in a church in the French city of Nice on Oct. 30.
France has deployed thousands of soldiers to protect important sites such as places of worship and schools, and France's security alert is at its highest level.