France vows to strengthen coordination of intelligence services to better face terror threats

Stunned by deadly terrorist attacks twice last year, France has promised to improve surveillance and to further boost coordination between intelligence services at home and abroad in order to prevent new assaults and to ease growing security concerns, a statement issued by presidency office, Elysee said on Thursday.

"Securing the country against the terrorist threat is more than ever the first priority of French intelligence services," French President Francois Hollande stressed after heading a national intelligence council on Wednesday.

In this context, better coordination between internal and external activities of the intelligence services was necessary to prevent eventual attacks and fight terrorism, the statement added.

Besides, the council agreed to strengthen the concerned service's capacity mainly through the enforcement of a law on intelligence which took effect in October 2015.

Many of gunmen who stormed Paris in November were French nationals who had been under surveillance by the security services for ties with Islamist militants.

The coordinated shootings and suicide bombings which rocked the country, already on a heightened level of security, raised questions on efficaciousness of intelligence service and the government's security policy. Endit