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French National Assembly approves extension of state of emergency by 6 months

The state of emergency in France will be extended for the fourth time since it was declared after the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015

© AP Photo/Thibault Camus

PARIS, July 20. /TASS/. The French National Assembly has voted for the extension of the state of emergency in this country for six months. According to AFP news agency, the relevant bill was supported by the majority of members of the lower house of parliament.

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President Francois Hollande announced the decision to extend the state of emergency in France after the terrorist attack in Nice on July 14 that left 84 people dead. Initially it was planned that this period will last for three months. However, after the debate lawmakers spoke out in favor is extending the state of emergency for another six months, that is, until the end of January 2017.

"The fight against terrorism will be long," Prime Minister Manuel Valls said speaking in the National Assembly. "Those who promise that the problem could be solved with a wave of a wand are lying. We will have to deal with other terrorist attacks. There is a risk of both planned attacks and attacks by individuals who succumbed to the ideological tricks of the Islamic State group (outlawed in Russia)."

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Valls noted that currently over 2,000 French citizens are involved, to a greater or lesser degree, in the activity of Islamist organizations, including in Syria and Iraq. Of these, 203 people are already in France, while 179 others are planning to return in the near future. "This poses a serious threat to our national security and the security of the entire Europe," he said.

A bill on extending the state of emergency will be submitted to Senate later on Wednesday. If the document is endorsed, the state of emergency in France will be extended for the fourth time since it was declared after the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015.

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