Euro 2016 to take place under state of emergency
Print Edition
FRANCE plans to extend the state of emergency in place since November’s attacks on Paris by two months, to maintain security through the Euro 2016 soccer tournament, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said yesterday.
The announcement came hours after police simulated an armed response to a militant attack and hostage-taking at a Paris railway station, and a day after a government pledge to ensure anti-terrorism units could get to any attack site within 20 minutes.
“The state of emergency cannot be permanent, but on the occasion of these big events ... we have decided to prolong,” Valls said on France Info radio.
Euro 2016 starts on June 10 and runs for a month at 10 stadiums around France. Some 2.5 million spectators are expected for 51 matches involving 24 teams. There will also be fan zones for crowds of TV viewers in major cities.
The current state of emergency giving extra powers to police and security forces runs until May 26. The proposed extension will have to be approved by parliament.
Police have had extra powers to search homes, hold suspects and put people under house arrest since the November 13 attacks in which 130 people were killed. The Stade de France national stadium north of the capital, which will host the opening match and the final, was the site of a suicide bombing on that day.
Security arrangements already planned for Euro 2016 are stricter than usual. The average stadium security presence will be 900 strong, plus 200 volunteer ushers and 80 medics — about 30 percent more staffing than at normal matches of the kind.
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