More CCTV planned after tram attack
Interior minister says video surveillance will be stepped up on public transport after gang attack on man in Grenoble
BETTER safety measures on public transport, including more CCTV, have been promised by the government after a violent attack on a young man in Grenoble at the weekend.
Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux is expected to confirm the initiative later this week, with an emphasis on city-centre trams and the areas around tram stops.
Five men were arrested this morning and are in police custody following the attack on a 24-year-old man in Grenoble on Friday night.
The victim, named in the local press only as Martin, was attacked by a gang of young men for no apparent reason as he got off a tram with friends in the city centre.
He was kicked and stabbed repeatedly. According to Le Dauphiné Libéré he is now out of a coma but still in a critical condition.
Eleven of the suspected attackers have been identified using CCTV installed at the tram stop.
During a hospital visit yesterday, Hortefeux said video surveillance had significantly helped the police investigation and more was needed.
"We are determined to eradicate this violence," he told reporters. "Our society is not a jungle."
The SNCF has already announced plans to double the number of CCTV cameras in trains and on stations by 2013.
