France to keep state of emergency until Daesh defeated

PARIS

France will attempt to keep the state of emergency until the terrorist group Daesh is defeated, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in a BBC interview broadcasted Friday.

France introduced a 12-day state of emergency within hours of Daesh claimed attacks that killed 130 people on Nov. 13. Parliament later extended it for a further three months.

Speaking to BBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Valls said France was "at war", which meant "using all means in our democracy under the rule of law to protect French people".

He said the state of emergency will be extended “until we can get rid of Daesh".

"We cannot always live all the time in a state of emergency. As long as the threat is there, we must use all the means,” he added. “In Africa, in the Middle East, in Asia we must eradicate, eliminate Daesh.”

The state of emergency is due to expire on Feb. 26.

This decision has been criticized by a group of four United Nations rights specialists who called on France "not to extend the state of emergency” as it imposes "excessive and disproportionate" restrictions on key rights.

The state of emergency gives sweeping powers to police and intelligence agencies. The French government also plans to include in the country’s constitution a measure aiming to strip French citizenship from people with dual nationalities convicted of terrorist offenses.

The French Human Rights League (LDH) also sent a letter on Wednesday to the Council, of State, France's highest legal body, requesting to end the state of emergency that it said was no longer justified and "seriously impacts public freedoms".