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French Premier Announces ‘Exceptional’ Measures Against Terrorism French Premier Announces ‘Exceptional’ Measures Against Terrorism
(about 3 hours later)
PARIS — Two weeks after one of the deadliest attacks ever to hit France, Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced “exceptional” measures on Wednesday to fight terrorism and reinforce a package of existing laws that are already considered to be among the strictest in Europe. PARIS — Two weeks after one of the deadliest attacks ever to hit France, Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced “exceptional” measures on Wednesday to fight terrorism, including creating thousands of new counterterrorism jobs to intensify the monitoring of nearly 3,000 people the police consider surveillance targets.
Mr. Valls made his announcements at a news conference after France formally charged and detained four men accused of providing logistical support to Amedy Coulibaly, one of the three gunmen involved in the three-day onslaught. The moves would reinforce a set of existing laws already considered to be among the strictest in Europe.
François Molins, the Paris prosecutor, said at news conference that the four men, ages 22 to 28, were being formally investigated on charges of a “terrorist conspiracy to commit crimes against people.” One of them will face an additional charge of carrying weapons “in relation with an initiative to carry out terrorist acts.” The full names of the men, the first to be charged in the attacks in which 17 people were killed, were not released. Mr. Valls made his announcements at a news conference after France formally charged and detained four men accused of providing logistical support to Amedy Coulibaly, one of the three gunmen involved in the three-day onslaught in which 17 people were killed in and around Paris.
Mr. Valls said that France would provide an additional 425 million euros, or more than $490 million, and create over 2,500 new jobs to buttress the fight against terrorism and monitor the approximately 3,000 people the police consider surveillance targets. A bill aimed at updating the legal framework for intelligence and surveillance operations would also be introduced in Parliament in March, Mr. Valls said. And highlighting the difficulties facing the authorities as they confront the terrorist threat, Le Canard Enchaîné, a French weekly, reported that the police had allowed Mr. Coulibaly to leave without serious questioning after a routine traffic stop, just eight days before the attacks began in Paris. His file with the counterterrorism authorities was said to have indicated that he should be questioned to extract the maximum amount of information without raising suspicion.
Among other proposals, Mr. Valls said his government would create a website intended to combat “jihadist indoctrination” and increase the number of Muslim chaplains in French prisons. He also said he would create a specific database listing the names of those who have already been convicted on charges of terrorism or who were members of “a terrorist fighting group.” The existence of such a file would force them to “declare any change of address or any trip abroad,” Mr. Valls said. Mr. Valls said that France would provide an additional 425 million euros, or more than $490 million, and create over 2,500 new jobs to buttress the fight against terrorism and monitor the thousands of people the police consider surveillance targets. A bill aimed at updating the legal framework for intelligence and surveillance operations would also be introduced in Parliament in March, he said.
Mr. Valls also said that his government would push for bipartisan discussion of a proposal backed by the opposition Union for a Popular Movement that would create a felony of “national indignity,” which could be applied to those who committed terrorist acts by stripping them of their civic and political rights. Among other proposals, Mr. Valls said his government would create a website intended to combat “jihadist indoctrination” as well as expand the number of separate quarters for radical inmates and provide more Muslim chaplains in French prisons.
French antiterror laws were reinforced recently, amid international concern about the threat posed by Europeans returning from training or combat in Syria. He also said he would create a specific database listing the names of those who have already been convicted on charges of terrorism or who were members of “a terrorist fighting group.” The existence of such a file would force them to “declare any change of address or any trip abroad,” Mr. Valls said.
Last year, the French Parliament passed legislation that created a new law that outlines penalties for actions of a terrorist nature by individuals. The law also made it easier for the authorities to block people believed to be Islamist extremists from leaving France, and authorized the Interior Ministry to void or confiscate the passports of people considered by the French intelligence services to be potential threats. He added that his government would push for a bipartisan discussion of a proposal backed by the opposition Union for a Popular Movement that would create a felony of “national indignity,” which could be applied to those who committed terrorist acts by stripping them of their civic and political rights.
French antiterrorism laws were reinforced recently, amid international concern about the threat posed by Europeans returning from training or combat in Syria.
Last year, the French Parliament passed legislation that created a new law outlining penalties for actions of a terrorist nature by individuals.
The law also made it easier for the authorities to block people believed to be Islamist extremists from leaving France, and it authorized the Interior Ministry to void or confiscate the passports of people considered by the French intelligence services to be potential threats.
Police officials confirmed the report on Wednesday in Le Canard Enchaîné, a satirical newspaper that also publishes investigative works, that Mr. Coulibaly had been stopped by police officers while driving in a rental car with his girlfriend, Hayat Boumeddiene, who the authorities suspect has since fled to Syria.
As the government ramps up efforts to combat terrorism after acknowledging a failure of intelligence in the prelude to the attacks, the latest revelation will add to intensifying questions on why the French authorities were unable to thwart a terrorist attack by known Islamic radicals who had been monitored by counterterrorism authorities.
Le Canard Enchaîné reported that there was an instruction in Mr. Coulibaly’s file indicating that he was “dangerous and belonged to an Islamist movement” and should be questioned to obtain as much information as possible.
“Get information without attracting attention,” the police report said.
The newspaper also reported that when the officers informed the counterterrorism authorities that they had stopped Mr. Coulibaly as he drove through the 19th Arrondissement of Paris, they received no response.
According to a police report, written by one of the two officers who stopped Mr. Coulibaly, part of which was published by the newspaper, the officer said he had “conducted a check on the driver of a Seat Ibiza” rented from the Sixt agency at Orly, an airport south of Paris, by Ms. Boumeddiene.
The report noted that Mr. Coulibaly had presented a certificate showing that he had successfully obtained his driving permit dated Dec. 10. It said the driver had also presented his national identity card, with the name Amedy Coulibaly, born on Feb. 27, 1982, in Juvisy-sur-Orge.
Christophe Crepin, spokesman for the UNSA police union, confirmed the report by Le Canard Enchaîné on Wednesday. He said that the police officers had acted correctly and according to procedure.
“At that moment, there was nothing to indicate that Mr. Coulibaly would go on to commit such barbaric acts, including killing a policewoman and killing four people at the kosher supermarket,” he said. “The police did their work. We didn’t have anything else on them. It is easy to criticize with the benefit of hindsight and to say that we could’ve done better.”
After Mr. Coulibaly and Ms. Boumeddiene drove away, they traveled to Spain, where the authorities believe Ms. Boumeddiene took a plane to Turkey on Jan. 2, before crossing into Syria, the newspaper said. Mr. Coulibaly, for his part, returned to Paris, where he would carry out his deadly attacks.
At a news conference, François Molins, the Paris prosecutor, said that four men, ages 22 to 28, accused of assisting Mr. Coulibaly were being formally investigated on charges of a “terrorist conspiracy to commit crimes against people.” One of them will face an additional charge of carrying weapons “in relation with an initiative to carry out terrorist acts.” The full names of the men, the first to be charged in the attacks, were not released.
On Wednesday, Mr. Molins described how three of the four suspects had bought equipment for Mr. Coulibaly, a 32-year-old Frenchman who fatally shot a police officer in a suburb south of Paris before taking several people hostage the next day at a kosher supermarket in Paris, killing four of them.On Wednesday, Mr. Molins described how three of the four suspects had bought equipment for Mr. Coulibaly, a 32-year-old Frenchman who fatally shot a police officer in a suburb south of Paris before taking several people hostage the next day at a kosher supermarket in Paris, killing four of them.
Mr. Coulibaly was later killed by the police as they stormed the supermarket.Mr. Coulibaly was later killed by the police as they stormed the supermarket.
Mr. Molins said that three men he identified as “Willy P., Christophe R. and Tonino G.” went to buy tactical body armor, knives, Tasers and tear gases for Mr. Coulibaly last year.Mr. Molins said that three men he identified as “Willy P., Christophe R. and Tonino G.” went to buy tactical body armor, knives, Tasers and tear gases for Mr. Coulibaly last year.
“We think that there is a group of people who agreed to help within the context of an agreement, and all of that was useful to undertake a terrorist act,” Mr. Molins said.“We think that there is a group of people who agreed to help within the context of an agreement, and all of that was useful to undertake a terrorist act,” Mr. Molins said.