French Senate Votes to Extend State of Emergency
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The French Senate overwhelmingly approved a three-month extension of a state of emergency imposed after the November extremist attacks that claimed 130 lives in Paris.
The upper house of parliament voted on Tuesday evening 316 to 28 to extend the measure until late May, with the National Assembly expected to follow suit next Tuesday.
The state of emergency legislation, dating to 1955 and modified in November, strengthens police powers, waiving the requirement for warrants in conducting searches, banning public gatherings and placing suspects under house arrest.
It was imposed by executive decree in the wake of the Nov. 13 attacks, then approved by parliament until Feb. 26.
On Monday, the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, voted in favor of enshrining in the constitution the process of declaring a state of emergency.
It is one of a series of amendments to the constitution that the Socialist government wants to introduce.
On Tuesday, lawmakers are to vote on the more controversial measure of stripping French nationality from dual nationals convicted of terror offences.
France's Human Rights League, one of many bodies now questioning the efficacy of the harsher measures, has noted that very few of the raids carried out under the current state of emergency since November have led to terrorism-related probes, AFP reported.
According to figures released Tuesday, 3,336 searches have been carried out, of which 28 have led to such probes, the bulk of them for "defending terrorism."
The dissenters in Tuesday's Senate vote included communists and a handful of green senators.
