80% say extend state of emergency
French public support the idea of extending the emergency measures for a further three months, says poll
FOUR out of five people in France are in favour of extending the country's state of emergency, introduced after the Paris terror attacks, ahead of a debate in parliament next week.
The state of emergency was brought in for a fortnight on November 13 and then extended by three months to February 26. Ministers will discuss a further three-month extension to the end of May this Wednesday, followed by a debate in the Senate on February 9 and the National Assembly a week later.
The Ifop poll, carried out on a representative sample of 1,000 people earlier this week, found 79% supported an extension and only 7% were strongly opposed to the idea. The extension had cross-party support, with Socialist voters just as likely to say yes as Front National and Républicains supporters.
Extending the state of emergency also appears to have the support of French people across the age range, with 78% of under-35s in favour of the idea and 81% of over-65s.
Four UN rights specialists recently urged France not to extend the state of emergency after its current deadline amid concerns over restrictions of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and the right to privacy.
In a statement, the experts said they had "stressed the lack of clarity and precision of several provisions of the state of emergency and surveillance laws" to government officials in Paris.
France's state of emergency includes emergency policing powers that have allowed numerous police raids and house arrests.
Stricter border controls are in place, with particular attention paid to 61 main access routes into France. More comprehensive checks also apply at airports, ferry terminals and main rail stations.
