Update | France unveils raft of anti-terror measures in wake of Paris attacks
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls announces 2,680 new jobs and funding of US$800 million to boost the fight against extremism
France unveiled a raft of measures on Wednesday to curb radicalisation and better monitor jihadists two weeks after an Islamist killing spree in Paris that sent shockwaves across Europe.
Jitters from the worst attack on French soil in decades have spread to the country’s neighbours and the European Union is also expected to reveal new counterterrorism measures on Wednesday.
In Paris, Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced more than 700 million euros (US$800 million) will be spent over the next three years on “the fight against terrorism” after the January 7-9 shootings which left 17 people dead.
The attacks by known Islamists exposed weaknesses in French intelligence, and Valls said some 3,000 people with jihadist ties needed to be monitored, adding that the number of people with links to “terrorist networks” in Syria and Iraq had soared 130 per cent in the past year alone.
In response, France will create 2,680 new jobs to fight extremism, just under half of them in the intelligence services.
