Reuters, Paris :
The threat of further militant attacks in France remains at its highest level, President Francois Hollande said on Thursday.
“We’re not finished with terrorism,” Hollande said in a New Year message that also defended constitutional changes underpinning a crackdown on militant groups after November’s deadly Islamist attacks in Paris that killed 130 peole.
“The threat is still there,” he said. “It remains in fact at its highest level, and we are regularly disrupting planned attacks.”
After a “terrible” year in which jihadists also attacked the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket and a heavily armed man attacked passengers on a high-speed train in France, Hollande said his “first duty” was to protect the French people.
“That means attacking the root of the evil, in Syria and Iraq. That is why we have intensified our air strikes against Daesh,” he said, using another name for the Islamic State (IS) group. Hollande said IS was feeling the hit from the assault.
“The hits are taking their toll, the jihadists are in retreat, so we will continue as long as necessary,” he added.
Hollande said he was “proud” of the French people for showing “solidarity and cool-headedness” after the attacks in January and in the wake of the carnage of November 13.
“Despite this tragedy, France did not give in,” Hollande said. “Despite the tears, it remained upright. Confronted by hate, it showed the strength of its values, the values of the Republic.” The president was defiant on his plans to strip dual nationals who are convicted of terrorist offences of their French nationality.
He said while it was “legitimate” to have a debate about the proposal that has deeply divided his Socialist party, “when it comes to your protection, France must not be divided”.
More than 100,000 police are on duty across France for the New Year’s Eve celebrations, including 11,000 in Paris where the main fireworks display has been cancelled this year.
Far fewer people than normal are expected to gather on the Champs Elysees boulevard, the traditional focal point of celebrations in France.
Meanwhile, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told forces on an aircraft carrier in the Gulf Thursday that the war against the ISIS group was starting to bear its fruit.
“The war (against ISIS) is being played out here,” he said aboard the Charles de Gaulle, which is participating in the US-led coalition carrying out air strikes on ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
“The strategy is starting to pay off. Everywhere our sensors show that Daesh is going on the defensive… as shown in the loss of Ramadi,” he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
Earlier this week, Iraqi forces pushed ISIS fighters out of the city west of Baghdad with air support from the coalition in an important setback for the group. “Several weeks ago, France was hit at its heart,” Le Drian told 250 French troops gathered in the carrier’s aircraft hangar among Rafale and Super Etendard jets.
The Charles de Gaulle set off for the eastern Mediterranean shortly after ISIS claimed November 13 bombing and shootings in Paris that killed 130 people and wounded many more.
The threat of further militant attacks in France remains at its highest level, President Francois Hollande said on Thursday.
“We’re not finished with terrorism,” Hollande said in a New Year message that also defended constitutional changes underpinning a crackdown on militant groups after November’s deadly Islamist attacks in Paris that killed 130 peole.
“The threat is still there,” he said. “It remains in fact at its highest level, and we are regularly disrupting planned attacks.”
After a “terrible” year in which jihadists also attacked the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket and a heavily armed man attacked passengers on a high-speed train in France, Hollande said his “first duty” was to protect the French people.
“That means attacking the root of the evil, in Syria and Iraq. That is why we have intensified our air strikes against Daesh,” he said, using another name for the Islamic State (IS) group. Hollande said IS was feeling the hit from the assault.
“The hits are taking their toll, the jihadists are in retreat, so we will continue as long as necessary,” he added.
Hollande said he was “proud” of the French people for showing “solidarity and cool-headedness” after the attacks in January and in the wake of the carnage of November 13.
“Despite this tragedy, France did not give in,” Hollande said. “Despite the tears, it remained upright. Confronted by hate, it showed the strength of its values, the values of the Republic.” The president was defiant on his plans to strip dual nationals who are convicted of terrorist offences of their French nationality.
He said while it was “legitimate” to have a debate about the proposal that has deeply divided his Socialist party, “when it comes to your protection, France must not be divided”.
More than 100,000 police are on duty across France for the New Year’s Eve celebrations, including 11,000 in Paris where the main fireworks display has been cancelled this year.
Far fewer people than normal are expected to gather on the Champs Elysees boulevard, the traditional focal point of celebrations in France.
Meanwhile, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told forces on an aircraft carrier in the Gulf Thursday that the war against the ISIS group was starting to bear its fruit.
“The war (against ISIS) is being played out here,” he said aboard the Charles de Gaulle, which is participating in the US-led coalition carrying out air strikes on ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
“The strategy is starting to pay off. Everywhere our sensors show that Daesh is going on the defensive… as shown in the loss of Ramadi,” he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
Earlier this week, Iraqi forces pushed ISIS fighters out of the city west of Baghdad with air support from the coalition in an important setback for the group. “Several weeks ago, France was hit at its heart,” Le Drian told 250 French troops gathered in the carrier’s aircraft hangar among Rafale and Super Etendard jets.
The Charles de Gaulle set off for the eastern Mediterranean shortly after ISIS claimed November 13 bombing and shootings in Paris that killed 130 people and wounded many more.
