(AFP) French authorities are to deploy members of the security forces in front of all Catholic and Protestant churches for the upcoming Easter weekend, further bolstering security in the aftermath of the Moscow attack, according to a memo seen on Thursday.
France has raised its security alert to the highest level after the Moscow concert hall attack that has claimed at least 143 lives.
Friday’s massacre, claimed by Islamic State jihadists, was the deadliest attack in Russia in two decades.
In a memo sent to prefects — the top Paris-appointed local officials — on Thursday and seen by AFP, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that the “very high” level of the terrorist threat and persisting international tensions including the Gaza war and the Moscow attack mean that “extreme vigilance must be maintained” during the Easter celebrations.
