French gov't seek to extend state of emergency after Nice attack

The French government on Tuesday proposed to extend the period of the state of emergency by three months in the wake of Nice attack.

In a press release issued after a cabinet meeting, the government, dogged by rising critics over security failure, asked for an three-month extension of emergency rules "following Nice attack on July 14 and the extremely high level of terrorist threat in France."

The move came after a 31-year-old Franco-Tunisian man drove a heavy truck into crowd in Nice last Thursday, killing 84 people.

The investigation into the attack showed the attacker's "certain, recent interest in radical jihadist movements," but no evidence have been found on his links with the Islamic State, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said on Monday.

The state of emergency which empowers the police to search homes and arrest suspects without judicial warrant, "has shown effectiveness by allowing measures that have a real destabilizing impact on individuals directly involved in the jihadist movement and on the criminal networks which feed terrorism," the statement added.

The government's new law would also give power to anti-terrorism units to search suspects' computers and mobilephone communications.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting, the government's spokesman Stephane Le foll said President Francois Hollande was considering a six-month extension of emergency state in response to the demand of right-wing lawmakers.

Later on Tuesday, lawmakers will discuss the government's proposal before passing the text to the Senate which is set to vote it on Wednesday. Endit