CCTV cams in Paris to quadruple

PLANS to setup more than 1,200 new CCTV cameras in Paris will be discussed next week.

The project, which could cost €50million , has already received the approval of Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë.

The prefect for the Paris Police, Michel Gaudin, said the cameras would not cover the whole city but would focus on areas such as traffic congestion, accident blackspots, large public spaces and areas hit by delinquency.

He said their use would be governed by a code of ethics.

The most likely system to implement the cameras would be through a private company who would then rent them out to the police.

The head of the UMP opposition in Paris, Jean-François Lamour, said he fully agreed with the plan but criticised the "late" application of CCTV technology in the city.

Communist Party head Ian Brossat asked why the city council was being asked to pay up for a project that would lead to cut backs in real policing. He added that CCTV would merely move problems not solve them.