Spotlight: "Terrorists will never destroy the Republic": Hollande

"The terrorists will never destroy the Republic, because it is the Republic that will destroy them," French President Francois Hollande boldly stated Monday in his speech addressed to the two chambers of parliament here.

"The acts committed on Friday night are acts of war. They left at least 129 dead and many injured," Hollande opened in his speech after a minute of silence was observed.

"We are now in a war against jihadist terrorism which threatens the whole world," he told parliamentarians, in reference to the attacks in Paris which included simultaneous shootings, explosions at restaurants, the Bataclan concert hall, and the national stadium and suicide bombings.

Following the air strikes carried out by the French military Sunday night on Raqqa, Syria, Hollande announced that France would intensify its operations in Syria.

"We will continue the strikes in the coming weeks," he noted, adding that the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle would be deployed to the eastern Mediterranean, which would "triple our capacity of action."

"There will be no respite, nor truce," stressed a resolute Hollande.

Hollande proposed that the security council of the United Nations meet as soon as possible to adopt a resolution to destroy Islamic State (IS), and that in the meantime, he would meet with U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin to form "one great coalition" facing the terrorists in Syria.

"I will meet in the coming days with President Obama and President Putin to unite our forces and achieve a result that is now too long postponed," he announced.

In order to ensure the security of French territory, Hollande announced that the reductions of army personnel would be suspended till 2019 "for the safety of our compatriots," he added.

Hollande also announced France would create 5,000 more police and gendarmes jobs in the coming two years as a security measure to protect the French people leading to a total of 10,000 new posts in the next five years.

Although the new security measures would greatly increase the state budget, Hollande affirmed that security was more important than tending to the budget deficit.

Hollande also expressed his wish to extend the current state of emergency status in the country to three months and invited parliamentarians to vote on the bill by the end of the week.

In his speech, Hollande also called for the solidarity of other EU member countries, noting that "the enemy is not just an enemy of France, it's also the enemy of Europe."

He also proposed that EU member states establish "coordinated and systematic controls at the borders," as well as create an European passenger name record for air passengers to "allow the traceability of the return of jihadists."

He also pointed out that the Paris attacks were "decided and planned in Syria, organized in Belgium, and perpetrated on our territory with French complicities."

"Some French attacked other French," Hollande said, proposing the parliamentarians allow the government to revoke the French nationality of the suspected terrorists with dual citizenship and expel more quickly foreigners who pose serious risk to public order and security.

"We will eradicate terrorism," the French head of state concluded his speech.

More than 60 hours after the deadly attacks in Paris, the Office of Paris Prosecutor announced Monday morning that two more attackers had been identified.

The first was a suicide bomber of French national stadium Stade de France, where a Syrian passport was found.

Although "the authenticity of the passport in the name of Ahmed Al-Mohammad, born on Sept. 10, 1990 in Idlib (Syria) remains to be verified," the Office of Paris Prosecutor found the finger prints of the suicide bomber matched those collected during a check in Greece in October, 2015.

A second suicide bomber of the Bataclan concert hall was identified as Samy Amimour, born on Oct. 15, 1987 in Paris suburbs.

According to the prosecutor's office, Amimour was known to the anti-terrorist service for having been charged with association with terrorist criminals. An international arrest warrant was issued in 2013 for him.

So far, five of the killed attackers, all of whom had returned from Syria, were identified.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Monday warned of possible further attacks on French soil and in European countries.

"Terrorism has hit and will hit again these days in the coming weeks. I do not say this to scare. Everyone must be fully aware of that," Valls said.

"We know that more attacks are being prepared, not just against France but also against other European countries," he told RTL radio.

Overnight, French police raided the homes of suspected Islamist militants across the country in the wake of the Paris attacks, he added.

"We are making use of the legal framework of the state of emergency to question people who are part of the radical jihadist movement, and all those who advocate hate of the republic," he said.

As part of a judicial inquiry into Friday's attacks, police raided 168 houses across the capital, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve unveiled Monday morning.

A total of 23 people were arrested and 104 others were put under house arrest over the last two days. Police also seized 31 weapons, including rocket launchers during the operation, he added.

"Let this be clear to everyone, this is just the beginning, these actions are going to continue," he told reporters.

One of the landmarks of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, was reopened and lit with the colors of the French flag in tribute to the victims. Endit