France after the attacksHollande wants IS "destroy"

French President Hollande arrives to deliver a speech at a special congress of the joint upper and lower houses of parliament (National Assembly and Senate) at the Palace of VersaillesEnlarge image

President as a warlord. Hollande before his speech to Parliament 

(Photo: REUTERS)
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  • France is facing a tightening of security measures in the fight against Islamist terrorism.
  • In a speech to both houses of parliament President Hollande announces the extension of the state of emergency by three months.
  • The opposition to ex-president Sarkozy and the far-right Marine Le Pen, meanwhile, has kicked off a competition for domestic hardness.
    From Leo Klimm, Paris
    Francois Hollande, France agrees to a one long struggle against Islamist terrorism. "France is at war," the president said on Monday in the far most important speech of his tenure. This war is being fought both in Syria, the stronghold of so-called Islamic State (IS), and in France itself. The assassin who had killed in Paris on Friday at least 129 people were probably driven out of Syria.
    Accordingly Hollande one hand changes with those weaknesses in internal security should be eliminated as quickly announced. On the other hand, he called on its international partners to do more to combat IS in Syria. The most urgent domestic policy measure is to extend the state of emergency by three months, he has imposed after the bloody attacks of Friday for Hollande.
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    The state of emergency is still governed by a law that was enacted in 1955 in the Algerian war. It allows authorities to abolish the freedom of movement of citizens and special "protection and security zones" set up. The state of emergency must be previously confirmed after twelve days by Parliament. But Hollande will let pass a law this week that he and the government for the next three months largely free hand leaves the anti-terrorist fight on French soil.
    The Head of State promised the same time a constitutional reform, it is aimed to respond to similar crises in the future, "without resorting to the state of emergency and without restricting the fundamental rights". Given obvious gaps in the fight against terrorism Hollande wants to create in 2016 a total of 8500additional posts in the police, gendarmerie, and judiciary at customs. A planned job cuts in the army he canceled. Let him take out that France would therefore fail to meet its deficit targets - security is more important than the EU Stability Pact, as Hollande.
    In his solemn speech to the assembled French Congress - consisting of the National Assembly and Senate - it went to the head of state, not least around the summoning of national unity: Unlike after the Islamist attacks that had been directed against the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, among other things, was missing such a strong, unifying character as the demonstrations, to which millions had gathered in France in January.
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    The convening of both houses of parliament in Versailles Palace is an extremely rare event, with Hollande Willenscharen the country symbolically and politically behind. In the presentation we went to the socialists, not least about presenting itself as a modern warlord, the challenges of jihadist terrorism has grown. For his speech, he received strong applause from all factions.
    Nevertheless, the President is under considerable pressure from the opposition.In fact, the Republicans, the party of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, and the far-right Front National (FN) have unleashed a kind of competition for domestic hardness: FN Party leader Marine Le Pen calls for a - rejected by Hollande - immediate hiring freeze for refugees in France. She feels confirmed by the finding that one of the bombers should be entered as Syrian refugees to Europe.