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| Car Slams Into Soldiers in Paris Suburb, Injuring Six | Car Slams Into Soldiers in Paris Suburb, Injuring Six |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| PARIS — A usually quiet Paris suburb became the scene of a terrorist attack early on Wednesday, when a driver plowed his vehicle into a military patrol as the soldiers were walking to their vehicles, injuring six of them. | |
| It was the sixth attack on French military forces since 2015 and added to the long string of attacks on uniformed security forces, Gérard Collomb, France’s interior minister, said in brief comments after the attack, underscoring the extent to which uniformed officers appear to be a focus for terrorists. | |
| “We know this was a deliberate act,” said Mr. Collomb, describing how the car had approached the military patrol slowly, but then sped up, striking the soldiers. | “We know this was a deliberate act,” said Mr. Collomb, describing how the car had approached the military patrol slowly, but then sped up, striking the soldiers. |
| By early afternoon, after a setting up checkpoints on the main roads leading out of Paris and a chase on a highway leading north, police officers in the Pas-de-Calais department captured a man driving the car that was used in the attack, which had been identified through surveillance footage. Later, President Emmanuel Macron, in Twitter messages supporting the security forces, said that the arrested man was the “author of the attack.” | By early afternoon, after a setting up checkpoints on the main roads leading out of Paris and a chase on a highway leading north, police officers in the Pas-de-Calais department captured a man driving the car that was used in the attack, which had been identified through surveillance footage. Later, President Emmanuel Macron, in Twitter messages supporting the security forces, said that the arrested man was the “author of the attack.” |
| Three of the soldiers were slightly injured, Defense Minister Florence Parly said, and the other three were in better condition than had initially been reported and their prognosis was good. | Three of the soldiers were slightly injured, Defense Minister Florence Parly said, and the other three were in better condition than had initially been reported and their prognosis was good. |
| The Paris prosecutor’s office quickly opened a terrorism investigation. France has been on constant alert for more than two years and has had emergency security patrols in place for nearly as long. | The Paris prosecutor’s office quickly opened a terrorism investigation. France has been on constant alert for more than two years and has had emergency security patrols in place for nearly as long. |
| In the context of the more than 20 terrorist attacks in France since January 2015, when Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper, and a kosher grocery were attacked in Paris, Wednesday’s assault was a relatively minor episode — no one was killed, the injured are expected to recover fully and the police apprehended the main suspect. | In the context of the more than 20 terrorist attacks in France since January 2015, when Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper, and a kosher grocery were attacked in Paris, Wednesday’s assault was a relatively minor episode — no one was killed, the injured are expected to recover fully and the police apprehended the main suspect. |
| But the attack, with its by now familiar pattern of a vehicle being driven at high speed into unsuspecting victims, was a reminder both of the extent to which France remains a target for terrorists and of the fraught debate over how best to combat the threat. Does it make sense to deploy large numbers of heavily armed soldiers to patrol streets and high-profile places frequented by both tourists and the French? Or does their presence draw fire as much as it deters it? | |
| “This is the paradox,” said Elie Tenenbaum, a research fellow at the French Institute for International Research. The initial deployment of about 10,000 soldiers across the country (7,000 soldiers are now deployed), he said, had “before anything else a psychological and political goal.” | |
| “It was to to show military force and reassure the population,” he said. “It has finally reached its limits.” | “It was to to show military force and reassure the population,” he said. “It has finally reached its limits.” |
| Mr. Tenenbaum and other terrorism experts have argued that the money, time and resources being spent on the deployment of soldiers, known as Operation Sentinelle, could do more to prevent terrorist attacks if they were spent on intelligence and police work. | Mr. Tenenbaum and other terrorism experts have argued that the money, time and resources being spent on the deployment of soldiers, known as Operation Sentinelle, could do more to prevent terrorist attacks if they were spent on intelligence and police work. |
| “The terrorist threat in France today is a clandestine threat, and to counter a clandestine threat, there are no two ways about it: you need intelligence gathering, not firepower,” Mr. Tenenbaum said. | “The terrorist threat in France today is a clandestine threat, and to counter a clandestine threat, there are no two ways about it: you need intelligence gathering, not firepower,” Mr. Tenenbaum said. |
| Operation Sentinelle was created in response to the January 2015 attacks and has endured since, but it now seems to make targets of soldiers and the police and perhaps may even attract attacks. | Operation Sentinelle was created in response to the January 2015 attacks and has endured since, but it now seems to make targets of soldiers and the police and perhaps may even attract attacks. |
| Of the eight terrorist attacks or attempted attacks this year in France, all were in the Paris region and all but one both targeted uniformed security officers and appeared to be at least partly inspired by extremist Islamist ideology. The one case that was entirely unrelated to the others was a letter bomb that exploded at the offices of the International Monetary Fund. | Of the eight terrorist attacks or attempted attacks this year in France, all were in the Paris region and all but one both targeted uniformed security officers and appeared to be at least partly inspired by extremist Islamist ideology. The one case that was entirely unrelated to the others was a letter bomb that exploded at the offices of the International Monetary Fund. |
| Wednesday’s attack, which occurred at 8 a.m. in Levallois-Perret, a largely affluent suburb just north of Paris, took place as the soldiers were going from the building they were using as housing to their patrol vehicles. Because they are living in the community in a relatively unsecured barracks but are heavily armed and wearing uniforms, they were extremely visible and vulnerable. | Wednesday’s attack, which occurred at 8 a.m. in Levallois-Perret, a largely affluent suburb just north of Paris, took place as the soldiers were going from the building they were using as housing to their patrol vehicles. Because they are living in the community in a relatively unsecured barracks but are heavily armed and wearing uniforms, they were extremely visible and vulnerable. |
| Levallois-Perret is hardly the usual high-profile Parisian location preferred by terrorists. Unlike military patrols near the Louvre Museum or at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame or police officers on the Champs-Élysées, all of which were attacked earlier this year, Levallois-Perret is not well known other than for being the location of the domestic intelligence service known as the DGSI. | Levallois-Perret is hardly the usual high-profile Parisian location preferred by terrorists. Unlike military patrols near the Louvre Museum or at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame or police officers on the Champs-Élysées, all of which were attacked earlier this year, Levallois-Perret is not well known other than for being the location of the domestic intelligence service known as the DGSI. |
| Over all, the attacks this year have been smaller in scale and have focused on security forces with numbing regularity. | Over all, the attacks this year have been smaller in scale and have focused on security forces with numbing regularity. |
| In February, a man armed with two large knives and shouting “God is great” in Arabic lunged at members of a military patrol near an entrance to the Louvre and wounded a soldier. The assailant was shot by another soldier. | |
| In March, a gunman was killed at Orly Airport, south of Paris, after attacking a soldier there. | In March, a gunman was killed at Orly Airport, south of Paris, after attacking a soldier there. |
| In April, days before the first round of the French presidential election, a gunman shot at police officers on the Champs-Élysées, killing one. The gunman was killed by the police. | In April, days before the first round of the French presidential election, a gunman shot at police officers on the Champs-Élysées, killing one. The gunman was killed by the police. |
| In June, a man was arrested after he used a hammer to attack police officers patrolling in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. He was shot and wounded. Later that month, an armed man was killed after he rammed his car into a police convoy on the Champs-Élysées. | In June, a man was arrested after he used a hammer to attack police officers patrolling in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. He was shot and wounded. Later that month, an armed man was killed after he rammed his car into a police convoy on the Champs-Élysées. |
| And on Saturday, a teenager with a knife tried to attack security forces guarding the Eiffel Tower. He had recently been discharged from a hospital, and a psychiatric expert deemed him unfit to face prosecution, but a second opinion will be sought in the investigation. | And on Saturday, a teenager with a knife tried to attack security forces guarding the Eiffel Tower. He had recently been discharged from a hospital, and a psychiatric expert deemed him unfit to face prosecution, but a second opinion will be sought in the investigation. |
| Mr. Macron said last month that the government would present a proposal in the fall to “deeply revisit the organization of Sentinelle,” in order “to have better operational efficiency and to take into account the efficacy and evolution of the threat.” | Mr. Macron said last month that the government would present a proposal in the fall to “deeply revisit the organization of Sentinelle,” in order “to have better operational efficiency and to take into account the efficacy and evolution of the threat.” |