LOC18:15
15:15 GMT
PARIS, Oct 18 (KUNA) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday praised the work of France's security and intelligence services in the fight against terrorism and noted that 13 terrorist operations were foiled here since the beginning of 2017.
Addressing some 500 security officers, including police, Gendarmes, Prefects and other officials, Macron nonetheless urged greater cooperation and coordination between all those involved in countering the ongoing terrorist threat in France.
He called for "sharing of information" and a "horizontal communication" between different services and he also urged police and security services to be "strong and fair" as they are "the face of the Republic."
Speaking on the current situation, Macron said that there would be an improvement in the way suspects are handled and those presenting a threat would be expelled from France if they were non-French nationals.
He vowed to toughen up procedures for expelling clandestine or delinquent foreigners and speed up this process.
He noted that the terrorist threat has changed over recent years and is now coming from the domestic front, rather than from external sources.
The President also warned any bodies preaching radicalism here that strong action would be taken against them.
The French Interior Ministry has closed more than a dozen Mosques and prayer halls on charges of preaching hate and violence and Macron said there would show "no complaisance" to radical institutions who promote terrorism.
He said that the challenge was to re-examine "the policy to prevent radicalisation" here and new legislation is likely to come forth.
He also said that a new Security Law, which is due to be adopted by the French Senate later in the day, was needed as it was better adapted to the country's security and other needs and was appropriate to tackle the changing threat of terrorism.
The new legislation is due to replace the current "State of Emergency" which is expiring on November 1, having been put in place in November 2015 after terror shootings and bombings killed 130 people in Paris and wounded hundreds.
Macron also urged better international cooperation and coordination in fighting terrorism and he said "we are too slow in bringing an adapted and full-coordinated response to the threat."
He also promised to seek ways to boost the presence of local police forces to be closer to the population and provide better contacts with ordinary people.
The French leader also revealed that he will host a major international conference in April 2018 to address the terrorism question, in particular linked with so-called Islamic State, which has claimed many attacks here.
Since January 2015, several attacks here have led to 240 deaths and several hundred injured in terrorist operations, several of which were blamed on so-called Islamic state. (end)
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