Due to the "very high level of terrorist threat which continues to weigh on our country" and the "renewed tension at the international level", "strong vigilance" must be maintained, writes the minister in a telegram consulted by AFP.
He asks the prefects to put in place a set of measures during the Jewish holidays of Hanukkah, from December 18 to 26, and the Christian Christmas holidays, the night of December 24, as well as January 6 and 7 for Armenian Christmas. and Orthodox.
The prefects must in particular ask the police and gendarmes to turn to the heads of religious sites for an "assessment of the situation".
The police will have to pay “special attention” to vehicles parked near buildings or gathering places.
The municipal police and the soldiers of the "Sentinel" operation will be mobilized on the "most sensitive or emblematic places and buildings".
A "static presence visible at the times of arrival and departure of the faithful" is also requested.
"I want physical presence, on foot, and generalized in front of all places of worship," adds the minister in manuscript on the telegram.
Declining Emmanuel Macron's ambition to "double" the police presence on public roads by 2030, Gérald Darmanin has regularly asked in recent months for a reinforcement of foot patrols by police and gendarmes, in order to "saturate" the public space.
© 2022 AFP