French lawmakers, prompted by the Bastille Day massacre in Nice, were on July 19 to debate extending the country’s state of emergency for a fourth time amid mounting criticism of the government’s response to extremist attacks. The state of emergency imposed after the November Paris attacks gives the police sweeping powers to carry out searches and place people under house arrest. / AFP PHOTO /
PARIS, France (AFP) — France’s National Assembly voted in the early hours of Wednesday to extend the country’s state of emergency for six months following last week’s massacre in Nice.
The state of emergency has been in place since the Paris attacks in November, and the extension would take it until the end of January 2017.
The extension now needs to be approved by the Senate.
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