- Title: FRANCE: FRANCE INCREASE SECURITY MEASURES AFTER MADRID BOMBING
- Date: 15th March 2004
- Summary: (W6) PARIS, FRANCE (MARCH 15, 2004) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. PAN OF SAINT LAZARE RAILWAY STATION 0.06 2. SLV/SV VARIOUS OF POLICEMEN MAKING RANDOM IDENTITY CHECKS (4 SHOTS) 0.26 3. SV SOLDIERS WITH RIFFLES OUTSIDE STATION (2 SHOTS) 0.33 4. MCU (French) LOUIS GALLOIS, HEAD OF FRENCH NATIONAL RAILWAY (SNCF - SOCIETE NATIONALE DES CH
- Embargoed: 30th March 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Reuters ID: LVA1ZSEWXZ3AF50R0N191JCARGBR
- Story Text: France increase security measures after Madrid
bombing.
Paris was on high alert on Monday (March 15) in the
wake of last week's multiple bomb attacks on Madrid trains
but police warn they face a mammoth task guarding millions
of passengers on rail and underground networks.
French police carried out luggage spot checks at
mainline stations after Madrid attacks that killed 200
people and wounded 1,500 others.
With al-Qaeda increasingly the main suspect for
Thursday's (March 11) devastating series of blasts in
central Madrid, even France, which vehemently opposed the
Iraq war, are worried.
France raised its "Vigipirate" plan, a four-step terror
alert system, from orange to red, the second highest step.
A red alert means a high possibility of a terror attack and
boosts police presence in public places such as railway
stations, airports and maritime ports.
Troops have been deployed to help them carry out spot
luggage checks at airports and patrol the rail and
underground network around the French capital. The aim is
to reduce the risks and anticipate attacks, to raise
public awareness without triggering panic. French Interior
Minister
Nicolas Sarkozy and the head
of the national railway company SNCF Louis Gallois, toured
Saint Lazare station and shook hands with policemen, troops
and local passengers.
"We have taken necessary precautions to ensure
passengers feel safe. As the Prime Minister said yesterday,
we should not be afraid, we should be aware of the danger,
it's our job to be on the lookout," said Gallois.
Sarkozy said France was taking all necessary measures
to provide adequate security on its territory.
"Of course, we can improve the situation, this is what
we are striving to do."
France is a target because of its security cooperation
with authorities fighting Islamic militants in Algeria,
Tunisia and Morocco. Despite their deep split over Iraq,
France and the United States have both lauded their joint
anti-terrorism work.
Railway networks appear to be the soft non-military
target of choice for militants. Within days of the Madrid
slaughter, France acknowledged a shadowy group had renewed
its threats against the state railway.
The Le Figaro daily said the AZF group was now
demanding around $6 million U.S. dollars to call off its
threatened attacks. The AZF threat provoked a yard-by-yard
search of the entire French network of 32,000 km (20,000
miles), a statistic that gives the size of the task facing
European security services.
France on Monday called for urgent meetings at EU and
UN level to strengthen the fight against terrorism.
European Commission President Romano Prodi said on
Monday the European Union may appoint a special
commissioner to drive the fight against terrorism after
last week's devastating bombings in Madrid. Proposals for
tougher European action are likely to dominate a regular
March 25-26 EU summit in response to last Thursday's
multiple bombings, which killed 200 people and wounded
around 1,500.
The Commission will unveil on Tuesday (March 16) an
action plan against terrorism that is likely to envisage
greater co-ordination and information sharing among EU
member states.
The plan build on measures the EU has introduced since
the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York, such as a
common EU search and arrest warrant replacing
time-consuming extradition procedures among member states.
Several EU states have yet to ratify and implement the
arrest warrant.
ends
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