France to Mobilize 10,000 troops

• By Matt Holden
• Jan 12, 2015

French authorities unveiled a number of measures to send thousands of soldiers and police officers to guard Jewish schools and other sites, reinforce electronic surveillance and reach into schools and prisons in a response to the terrorist attacks that shook the nation, according to reports.

Seeking to reassure jittery citizens, the French defense minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said Monday that 10,000 soldiers would be deployed by Tuesday evening, in what he called “the first mobilization on this scale on our territory.”

Prime Minister Manuel Valls spoke of new legislation to enhance surveillance powers to be readied “in three or four months” as part of what he “an exceptional response” to the attacks. He said there had been a major increase in the number of French people traveling to Syria and Iraq to join jihadist movements — a source of major concern, along with the power of the Internet to spread radical messages, for the authorities.

This comes after a million people marched in central Paris is a display of defiance and unity. The interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, said that 4,700 police officers would be posted to guard the country’s 700 Jewish schools and other institutions.