French embassies abroad should strengthen security measures.
The corresponding order came from the authorities of the republic, said the head of the French Foreign Ministry Jean-Yves Le Drian following a meeting of the Security Council.
“The threat is also strong abroad.
Everything quickly turns from virtual hatred to real violence.
We decided to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of our interests and our fellow citizens.
Our ambassadors were given instructions to strengthen security measures, "RIA Novosti quoted Le Drian as saying.
We will remind, earlier, a wave of attacks on civilians and policemen swept across France.
On the morning of October 29, a visitor from Tunisia stabbed three people to death in the Roman Catholic Basilica of Notre Dame in the center of Nice.
One of the victims of the attack in Nice was a 44-year-old Brazilian citizen, mother of three children.
President Emmanuel Macron called the incident a terrorist attack.
The alleged criminal, Ibrahim al-Awisawi, was detained and taken to hospital with a gunshot wound.
Hot on the heels, French police also detained a 47-year-old man who is believed to have been in contact with the attacker on the eve of the attack.
At the same time, al-Awisawi's acquaintances claim that they did not notice aggressive behavior behind him.
According to the Adnkronos agency, the Tunisian arrived in September 2020 on the Italian island of Lampedusa, where people from North Africa often illegally arrive in the hope of later staying in Europe.
In Italy, the man was interrogated and released.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic hastened to declare that the department does not bear any responsibility for the actions of Ibrahim al-Awisawi.
Also on October 29, according to media reports, a man was shot dead in Avignon who threatened passers-by and a police patrol with a pistol.
It is reported that law enforcement officers unsuccessfully tried to neutralize the attacker with a flash-bang grenade, but then opened fire.
On Thursday, in Lyon, at the railway station, security forces detained a native of Afghanistan with an expired residence permit in France.
Law enforcers suspect him of preparing a terrorist attack.
According to the BFM TV channel, citing police sources, the man was armed with a knife with a blade of several tens of centimeters.
The detainee allegedly "heard voices" that ordered him to kill.
According to Le Figaro, the attacker was born in 1994 and was known to the special services for manifestations of radical Islamism.
Also on Thursday, an unknown assailant attacked a guard at the French consulate in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).
The motives for the crime have not yet been reported.
On October 23, an 18-year-old Pakistani man attacked passers-by near the former Charlie Hebdo office.
He admitted to the police that he was going to attack the journalists, but did not know that the satirical weekly had moved to another office.
The visitor intended to take revenge on the publication for the recent publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
Another high-profile incident occurred on October 16 in the Paris suburb of Evreux, where 18-year-old Abdulakh Anzorov beheaded teacher Samuel Pati.
According to French media reports, Paty had previously shown cartoons of Muhammad at a lecture on freedom of speech.
In memory of the murdered, some of the French media reprinted the cartoons of Charlie Hebdo.
The behavior of the journalists, who were also supported by Emmanuel Macron, caused a wave of indignation in the Muslim world, which was expressed in the official condemnation and boycott of French goods.
In particular, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated about the inadmissibility of replicating drawings that are offensive to Muslims.
In response, Charlie Hebdo published a cartoon of the Turkish leader.
"Do not retreat before terror"
Speaking on Thursday in Nice to reporters, Macron called the terrorist attack that took place in the church an attack on the whole of France for its national values.
According to him, "our whole country is in the soul next to our fellow Catholics."
He called on the citizens of the republic, regardless of their religious affiliation, to unite in the face of the threat of terrorism.
“We are once again attacked for our values - for our love of freedom, for the fact that on our land you can believe as you like and not give up in the face of terror.
And today I once again quite clearly declare: we will not give up an inch before him, ”the French leader said.
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Given the high level of terrorist threat, the French President ordered to mobilize from 3 to 7 thousand military personnel and to ensure the protection of all religious buildings and schools.
Currently, the anti-terrorist operation Sentinelle ("Guard") is underway in France.
Prime Minister Jean Casteks emphasized that "the government's response will be firm, ruthless and immediate."
Meanwhile, experts doubt that the measures taken by the French authorities will have a meaningful effect.
In their opinion, the outbreaks of violence that continue due to the demonstration of scandalous cartoons are rather sporadic, and therefore it is very difficult to predict where the next tragedy may occur.
Sergei Fedorov, a leading researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in a conversation with RT, called the strengthening of security measures taken by official Paris "as much as possible."
However, in his opinion, the problem of terrorism in the country cannot be solved in this way.
“In early December, the French parliament is scheduled to hear a law on the topic of radical Islam.
It is highly likely that more stringent measures will be taken to identify foreigners inclined to radical ideas.
Nevertheless, the question of how to ensure control over thousands of such people remains open, ”says Fedorov.
From his point of view, the media and the French authorities made a mistake by circulating cartoons that Muslims perceived as an insult.
And now, according to Sergei Fedorov, Paris "is trying to put out the fire with gasoline."
“Macron repeats all the time that it is necessary to ensure freedom of speech and respect all religious feelings, but we must not forget that there are about 6 million French Muslims.
They have their own ideas about what cartoons should be.
It is important to take into account the specifics of this part of society, although, of course, there can be no justification for terrorist acts, ”says Fedorov.
In turn, Evgenia Obichkina, Professor of the Department of International Relations and Russian Foreign Policy at MGIMO (U) of the Russian Foreign Ministry, looks at the situation in France differently.
In a conversation with RT, she said that the main burden of responsibility is borne by Islamist recruiters on the Internet and radical religious sects "working" with Muslim youth.
“The visiting radicals are trying to model French society in accordance with the tasks that extremist preachers put before them.
For a long time, France turned a blind eye to this problem, but this caution did not bring the desired results.
Now society and the authorities are looking for some way out of the situation, realizing that they are already twenty years late, ”says Obichkina.
"Social despair"
Even before the wave of terrorist attacks, the French press noted that security and illegal migration are the Achilles heel of the current president's policy.
Because of this, as the newspaper Le Figaro wrote in early September, the French leader risks losing the confidence of citizens and losing the 2022 elections.
According to the results of an October poll conducted by the Political Innovation Foundation, 79% of French voters announced their intention not to participate in the next presidential elections, to omit an empty ballot or vote for an anti-systemic candidate.
Of those who are still going to vote, only 16% of respondents support Macron.
At the same time, 18% of those polled would vote for the head of the National Unity Party Marine Le Pen.
Political analysts also point to a powerful rise in protest sentiments in French society.
Experts recalled that in 2020, Macron's party members suffered a crushing defeat in the municipal elections, which, moreover, had a record low turnout.
Muslims in Paris pray near a local mosque
© Zakaria ABDELKAFI / AFP
Evgenia Obichkina believes that France is experiencing a period of "social despair".
In her opinion, at present, in the wake of the terrorist threat, the right wing under the leadership of Le Pen can get political points.
The growing popularity of the "National Association" poses a great danger to Macron's rating, the expert says.
“In my opinion, the situation for Macron is complicated by factors that depend little on him.
For example, the pandemic and the economic crisis that has been dragging on since 2008.
The French President is now looking for various ways to overcome all these difficulties.
And his rhetoric after the terrorist attack in Nice is aimed at those citizens whom he plans to "recapture" from the "National Association," says Obichkina.
Sergei Fedorov, in turn, believes that the French leader needs to present a comprehensive plan to fight crime in order to raise his rating.
The situation with the coronavirus does not add to the president's popularity either - on October 28, the French leader announced the return of the self-isolation regime, which will inevitably entail major financial losses.
“The situation for Macron, whose ratings are already low, is difficult, including because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
To rectify the situation, he will have to address health and safety issues.
The attacks exposed a deep division in society.
To eliminate it will require painful and difficult decisions, ”predicts Fedorov.