More police jobs to combat unrest

The interior minister has announced an extra 500 posts a year, in response to the Amiens riots

FIVE hundred extra police and gendarme posts will be created per year in a bid to combat unrest.

The move comes in response to the rioting in the northern city of Amiens earlier this week.

Interior Minister Manuel Valls said that the new posts, to be created from 2013, would be for policing areas designated as “Security Priority Zones” (ZSP).

In Aix-en-Provence, where he visited two police officers who were attacked by youths with a bottle on Saturday night, Mr Valls said: “Security, like justice, is a priority in the 2013 budget, whereas nearly 12,000 police and gendarme posts were removed over the last five years.”

It was necessary to “stop this haemorrhage,” Valls said, adding that the new posts would be for “seasoned men and women who know the terrain”.

Out of five people who were being questioned after the Amiens riots only three have been charged. They are set to appear in court this afternoon.

Investigations are also under way to try to track down the “ringleaders”, using DNA and CCTV footage.

The Fafet area, where the violence happened, is one of the ZSPs.

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