France fears terror attacks: Chirac

PARIS – France is “still in a situation of fear” that attacks will be made against it, even though there are no specific threats identified, President Jacques Chirac said yesterday.

“There are no specific reasons (for the fear), but there is a permanent reason,” he said as he toured a police anti-terrorist centre in Paris with Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie. Before going into a closed-door meeting with those and other security officials, he said: “France has known attacks in the past and it must do everything to prepare for the crises they can provoke.”The visit, he said, was to see the latest preparations and to show support to the police and military officers involved in them.France currently has its terrorist attack alert at “red”, the second level on a four-point scale.Its security forces forces adopted that level of vigilance after the July 7 bomb attacks on London’s public transport network.- Nampa-AFPBefore going into a closed-door meeting with those and other security officials, he said: “France has known attacks in the past and it must do everything to prepare for the crises they can provoke.”The visit, he said, was to see the latest preparations and to show support to the police and military officers involved in them.France currently has its terrorist attack alert at “red”, the second level on a four-point scale.Its security forces forces adopted that level of vigilance after the July 7 bomb attacks on London’s public transport network.- Nampa-AFP