“Strong vigilance” requested from the police by the Minister of the Interior. On Monday, Gérald Darmanin asked the prefects for police “on foot” in front of all Christian and Jewish places of worship for the Christmas and Hanouka holidays, in view of the “very high level of terrorist threat which continues to weigh on our country” and of the “renewed tension at the international level”.
The minister 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 Christmas Armenian and Orthodox.
Municipal police and soldiers of the “Sentinel” operation mobilized
The prefectural authorities 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 as well as 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. Finally, Gérald Darmanin “wishes physical presence, on foot, and generalized in front of all places of worship”.