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Colleen Morgan

Mr.Phillips

English 3 H

08 May 2017

Terrorisms Effect in France

From Paris to Nice, in the past few years France has been plagued with terror

attacks. More than 115 people have been killed by these horrific acts of violence, and

who knows if it will happen again. After innocent citizens have been killed, it is only

necessary to implement laws and policies to stop, or try to prevent, these from happening

again, and thats exactly what France did. Not taking action would be surrendering to the

terrorists, which is exactly what terrorists want. If theres shoplifting, sensors are put in

place. If theres heavy speeding, a speed monitor is implemented. Same idea for the

recent terror attacks, France has proposed and implemented many policies for the safety

of its country, and so far theyve been necessary and helpful.

Of course everyone has an opinion on what should be done, but the most

influential opinions happen to be from the candidates running for election and the current

President. The most vocal about change is the far right candidate, Marine Le Pen. She

says that everyone stays and settles down, and that France should not be accepting

asylum seekers or terrorists when they need to focus on their own poverty and issues

(Smale). These politicians are trying to put France back in order, and their

campaigning shows it (Erlanger and Rubin). Mrs. Le Pen want to reinforce Frances

borders, not rely on all of Europe (Meichtry). Overall multiple candidates are using these
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recent attacks, especially Nice, as a fodder for their argument to propose stronger

background checks and tighter immigration control (Smale). Mrs.Le Pen stricter

immigration proposal and idea to focus on France is now more necessary than ever. To be

able to protect the citizens of France relying on the EU to combat terrorism isn't enough,

laws specific to France will help to control the terrorism in the country.

President Hollande caught some fire for not doing enough to combat terrorism,

when he actually proposed some policies that were too radical to be passed. He proposed

to strip French dual citizenship from convicted terrorists. While this wouldnt be a

permanent, it would be for the time being (Birnbaum). While this did fail, it was a strong

reply to his displeased critics. President Hollande is between a rock and a hard place, he

needs to appease two sides. French lawmakers denying his proposal also proved that

France won't go too far on infringing citizens rights, while still trying to protect them.

Other policies have been proposed not directly from Mrs.Le Pen or the President.

Lawmakers proposed to survey known radicalist, a direct telephone hotline for people

reporting radicalist, and a system to record airline passenger names (Schweitzer). All of

these are to make it easier to catch radicalists and stop terrorism before it happens. French

lawmakers have also debated a bill that would make it easier for the President to enact a

state of emergency (Toor). This was in response to President Hollande enacting a state of

emergency after the Paris terror attack, and the extension of it. While all these failed,

these proposals showed Frances push to go to certain measures to end the threat. Even

though these have not been passed, it's good that people are trying to do something about

the threat.
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While there hasnt been much opposition to the proposal of policies, mostly due

to fear, some people dont find it necessary, or would rather go at it differently. Mrs. Le

Pen strongest opposition is Mr.Macton. He is more moderate/left then Mrs.Le Pen, and

would rather unite Europe to help end terrorism, them focusing on just France. He touts

the single market as the key to prosperity (Meichtry). However, there has not been a

direct threat to all of Europe, there has been many direct threats to France. It would not

be time effective, or effective for the safety of France alone, to rely on the EU to create

policies to protect such a large region. The French PM has also come out and said that

France should learn to live with terrorism due to the changing times (The Wrong Answer

to Nice). This is not a solution to the problem, its the exact opposite. Giving into

terrorism will ultimately get people killed and giving terrorists the green light to attack

again. No matter the time, terrorism should not be accepted by anyone, especially

someone who has such influence over a country.

Not only has a multitude of policies been proposed, a variety have also been

implemented. After the Paris terror attack President Hollande put France in a state of

emergency, which was extended after the Nice attack. This wasnt the first time France

has gone into a state of emergency, in 1955 they went into one during the Algerian War of

Independence (Zertesky). 7,000 soldiers were sent out to guard sensitive areas such as

temples, churches, important religious sites, etc (McPartland). These soldiers watch for

suspicious activity and terrorist like activities, while keeping the public feel more safe

(Zertesky). This state of emergency also said that police could carry out home searches

and place subjects under arrest without having court approval (Birnbaum). The state of
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emergency is to protect people in a state of disarray. This wasnt to punish citizens, it was

to help effectively find and keep terrorists out of France.

However, not everyone is in favor of this imposed state of emergency. Many

consider it pointless and the government overstepping its boundary. A French military

official said it's like a sieve and it was going to fail. Critics have also said the state of

emergency will turn France into a dictatorship and it went from fighting terrorism to

maintaining public order (Zertesky). However, it has been proven throughout history that

when a country is in a state of turmoil, the government needs to be overbearing in order

to maintain the peace and calm of the country. The home invasions and arrests are for

terrorist purposes ONLY and not for random laws. If the government doesnt respond to

an immediate threat, what is the point of having a government for security reasons? The

government is overbearing when necessary, and multiple terrorist attacks in a year or two

is definitely necessary.

Legislation has also passed due to the terror attacks. The Ministry of Defense

created a national land command to better prepare the army to battle terrorism at home

(Daguzan). This was in addition to police being sent out to certain sites. The government

is really putting time into defensive forces learning to identify and prevent terrorism. The

government now requires all schools to do drills concerning if a terrorist is at school

(Dalton), and the media is now censoring reporting about terrorist attacks (Dalton). The

government views this as such a great threat they are censoring the public from getting

certain details, and kids are now being warned of the danger. This is all extremely

necessary because the media doesn't want to inspire terrorists, and kids need to also be

able to protect themselves if possible.


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The policies have also impacted the economy and sporting events. The

government cut social welfare from French citizens who joined Jihadist groups

(Hjeimgaard). This sent a direct message to the terrorists, that France is not condoning

any activity that will put its citizens at risk and if it decide to join a radical group, then the

government will not support them. Also for the Euro 2016 soccer tournament the

audience is eligible to be screened at any point, meetings can be forbidden, and transport

can be cancelled (Daguzan). This extra security may not be welcomed by guests, but isnt

the safety of the country more important than that? While these both may seem extreme,

they are both to either protect citizens or discourage terrorism.

France has done a good job, and should continue to, protect the rights of their

citizens. Focusing on the safety of France and the safety of their citizens, while trying to

prevent and find terrorists, have all been implemented or proposed. As Zertesky said,

Each attack strengthens countries will to defeat the attack, and cannot be defeated by

shrugging a shoulder, and that's exactly what Frances mindset should be.


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Work Cited

Birnbaum, Michael. "Terror may be New Normal in Europe." Washington Post, 25 Dec,

2016, pp. A.1, SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.

Daguzan, Jean-Francois. "Euro 2016: France Counterterrorism Strategies." Euro 2016: France

Counterterrorism Strategies | ISPI. N.p., 10 June 1970. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Dalton, Matthew. "French Schools Launch Terrorism Drills." Wall Street Journal, 22 Sep, 2016,

pp. A.15, SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.

Dalton, Matthew. "French Media Rethink Publication of Images of Terror Suspects." Wall Street

Journal Online, 28 Jul, 2016, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Erlanger, Steven, and J. R. Alyssa. "Attack Echoes, Faintly, in a Europe Anxious but Inured."

New York Times, 24 Mar, 2017, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Hjelmgaard, Kim. "European Welfare Funds ISIS Fighters." USA TODAY, 24 Feb, 2017, pp. A.1,

SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Meichtry, Stacy, and Anton Troianovski. "EU Loyalists Find their Voice." Wall Street Journal, 20

Apr, 2017, pp. A.1, SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.

Schweitzer, Yoram. "French Counterterrorism Strategy at a Crossroad." Inss.org.il. INSS, 26 July

2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Smale, Alison. "Immigrants Face Walls, Deportations and Tighter Rules in Europe, Too." New

York Times, 24 Feb, 2017, pp. A. 9., SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Smale, Alison, and Stephen Castle. "Attack Builds Political Power of Anti-Immigrant

Movements in Europe." New York Times, 17 Jul, 2016, pp. A.12, SIRS Issues Researcher,

https://sks.sirs.com.
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"The Wrong Answer to Nice." New York Post, 16 Jul, 2016, pp. 18, SIRS Issues Researcher,

https://sks.sirs.com.

Zaretsky, Robert. "Frances Perpetual State of Emergency." Foreign Policy. N.p., 16 July 2016.

Web. 26 Apr. 2017.

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