Initially planned until October 31st, border controls will be extended until April 30, 2018 in France. The reason: “persistence” of the terrorist threat.
France will maintain until the 30th April, 2018 border controls reinstated on the evening of the attacks of the 13th November 2015, arguing that the continued “persistence” of the terrorist threat , we have learned this Thursday from the Interior Ministry.
These checks, which were to be ended on the 31st October, are to be extended from the 1st November.
They had been been restored in accordance with Articles 25 and 27 of the SBC after the Paris attacks of November 13th, 2015 which made 130 deaths.
“These tests will be conducted in compliance with the principle of proportionality,” say the French authorities in the note of 3 October they announced their decision to the European Union.
In 2017, 22 attacks have targeted the France
The European Commission on Thursday confirmed having received “notification” of France – as well as Germany and Denmark – informing her that she would extend its controls.
“The Commission will now assess the notifications of these temporary controls announced,” she said. However, Paris does not have to wait to “green light” to apply formal decision.
To justify his choice, France invokes again the terrorist threat, stating that “since the beginning of 2017, 22 attacks have targeted the French territory, five resulted, five failed and 12 were foiled.”
The French authorities explain:
Risk analysis (…) confirmed the existence of a sustained high level of threat and fear is preparing other attacks on French soil at the instigation of Daech.
Borders ? Strategically
If for Paris, “the main threat remains after the endogenous movement”, that is to say, individuals present on French soil, “the crossing of the EU’s internal borders remains a strategy of terrorist groups” . The authorities cite in particular the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils in Spain on the 17th and 18th August which left 16 dead and 120 wounded.
“The national border controls have been in recent months demonstrated their usefulness,” said the French government.
During the recent debate on the new anti-terrorism bill in Parliament, the right had demanded “the unconditional maintenance of border checks” against “bureaucratic reading of the Schengen Code.”
A total of six countries (Austria, Germany, Denmark, France, Sweden and Norway) have now reinstated border controls in the Schengen area. France is the only one to have done by invoking the terrorist threat.
