French PM confirms Champs Elysees attacker had a permit to hold a gun

Record ID: 896227

  • Title: French PM confirms Champs Elysees attacker had a permit to hold a gun
  • Date: 20th June 2017
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (JUNE 20, 2017) (REUTERS) TRAFFIC ALONG CHAMPS ELYSEES AVENUE JOGGERS IN STREET POLICE CORDON LYING ON PAVEMENT GRAND PALAIS EXHIBITION CENTRE NEAR PLACE OF CHAMPS ELYSEES ATTACK FRENCH FLAG ON BUILDING POLICE CARS PARKED CARS IN STREET TRAFFIC ALONG CHAMPS ELYSEES AVENUE
  • Embargoed: 4th July 2017 08:42
  • Keywords: Champs Elysees attack Edouard Philippe reactions Paris French Prime Minister car France PM police
  • Location: PARIS, FRANCE
  • City: PARIS, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016M2ZZGN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
    French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe confirmed on Tuesday (June 20) that the man who deliberately rammed a car carrying weapons and explosives into a police van on Monday (June 19) held an arms permit despite being on a police watch list.
    Philippe said in a morning TV interview that the permit had been given to the attacker before an alert was made over the individual.
    "He had no criminal record that would have justified a decision not to authorise the possession of arms," Philippe told French broadcaster BFMTV.
    He added he was not satisfied the individual continued to benefit from the arms permit after having been alerted to authorities.
    The man died in the incident on the Champs Elysees Avenue after being pulled out of his smoking car, and the Paris prosecutor's counter-terrorism unit said it had opened an investigation.
    Debris from the incident could be seen along the iconic avenue on Tuesday as Parisians awoke to the aftermath. Passer-by Philippe Garnier told Reuters TV attacks were becoming "inevitable" and 52-year-old Alessandra Invernizzi said she felt less safe in Paris than in her home town of Milan.
    France has been on high security alert following a series of terrorist attacks in recent years, including the shooting of a policeman in an Islamic State-claimed attack on a police bus on the Champs Elysees in April.
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