MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th November, 2020) French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said that 10,000 troops had joined the country's security forces since 2017, as envisioned by the national legislation against terrorism.
Following 2015 terror attacks in Paris, the government amended its counterterrorism laws, which led to the passing in November 2017 of the so-called "Strengthening Internal Security and the Fight Against Terrorism" (SILT) legislation that gives additional powers to administrative authorities to impose control measures.
"Since 2017, our internal security forces have increased in number with 10,000 recruits. They benefit from increased legal means thanks to the law strengthening internal security and the fight against terrorism," Macron tweeted.
He added in a another tweet that the authorities had significantly increased "financial, human and technological resources," and boosted coordination between internal intelligence services, led by the French internal security service (DGSI).
The president also mentioned his three-year-old strategy to eliminate "the roots of terrorism" across France, which helped the authorities prevent 32 attacks since 2017.
Earlier in the day, the French leader unveiled that he had ordered stronger border control within the visa-free Schengen area by doubling military troops to up to 4,800 personnel. The move comes amid nationwide dismay over growing Islamist threat, as France was shaken by a series of extremism-motivated assaults, including history teacher's beheading in Paris on October 16 and subsequent killings in Nice on October 29, both attacks carried out by radicalized young men.
