Hollande seeks to extend state of emergency despite critics

French President François Hollande’s government on Tuesday is formally seeking an extension of the state of emergency imposed after the November 13 Paris attacks. The Conseil d’État is expected to announce its decision on Wednesday.

Barely two days after a group of UN special rapporteurs on human rights issued an extraordinary condemnation of France’s state of emergency, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls did the media rounds at Davos, vowing to prolong the controversial measures as long as “the threat is there”.

In an interview with the BBC at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort last week, Valls stressed that France was “at war” against the Islamic State (IS) group.

"As long as the threat is there, we must use all available means," said the French prime minister, adding that the state of emergency should stay in place "until we can get rid of Daesh”, using a pejorative Arabic acronym for the jihadist group.

The official position on seeking to prolong the state of emergency until the demise of Daesh – effectively setting an open-ended extension of sweeping executive powers – is a measure of the hardline position President François Hollande’s government has taken since the November 13, 2015, Paris attacks that killed 130 people.

The government’s “tough on terror” position comes despite condemnations from civil rights advocates over France’s declining liberties...http://www.france24.com/en/20160126-france-state-emergency-hollande-civil-liberties-security-terrorism
26/1/16
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