France to tighten security for New Year celebrations due to 'very high' terror threat

Paris

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Friday (Dec 29) that his government would tighten security for New Year celebrations in France due to a 'very high' terror threat, news agency Reuters reported. "I called for an extremely strong mobilisation of the police and gendarmerie services against the backdrop of a very high terrorist threat. Of course, because of what is happening in Israel and Palestine," Interior Minister Darmanin told reporters.

Darmanin added that he had asked for the mobilisation of more than 90,000 police and gendarmes, plus 5,000 soldiers from Operation Sentinelle. " There will also be tens of thousands of firefighters, as the Sécurité Civile will be particularly mobilised," he said.

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"We (will) have around ten National Gendarmerie helicopters that fly all over the country, helping the police to carry out what we call manoeuvres, spotting problems and helping the police to intervene. But also, and this is something completely new for 31 December, we'll be flying drones, which proved highly effective during the Rugby World Cup, as well as in the fight against urban violence. So a lot of airborne resources are provided for by law," the minister further said. 

A growing risk of attacks by extremists

The French interior minister's remarks comes amid growing risk of extremist attacks not just in France, but the whole of Europe since the war between Israel and Hamas started on October 7.

Nearly a week into the conflict, a high school teacher in France's Arras was stabbed by a former student who claimed he was a member of the Islamic State (IS). The attacker also made a marginal reference to the Israel-Hamas war before stabbing 57-year-old Dominique Bernard of the Lycee Gambetta High School. 

On Dec 2, a 26-year-old French national upset over the conflict attacked tourists near the Eiffel Tower. The attacker, a male, attacked a tourist couple with a knife on the Quai de Grenelle, mortally wounding a German national.

he then attacked two other people with a hammer after being chased by the police and getting arrested. Interior Minister Darmanin said the man was upset about the Gaza war and Muslims dying in Afghanistan and Palestine.

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The 26-year-old had been sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 for planning another attack. He was on the French security services' watch list, and was also known for having psychiatric disorders, Darmanin added. 

(With inputs from agencies)