Extending emergency powers can't be indefinite: France's Council of State

The French government cannot prolong the state of emergency "indefinitely," said Jean-Marc Sauve, vice-president of the State Council, France's supreme administrative court.

"The state of emergency is a state of crisis that cannot be renewed indefinitely," Sauve told the daily newspaper Le Monde.

"We are facing two categorical necessities: to ensure the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms and to combat terrorism effectively," he added.

On Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande sought to extend the state of emergency until the presidential election in April-May 2017, beyond its normal term in January 2017.

"To date, we have not been informed by the government's new extension project. If it is to be the case, the general assembly of the Council of State would assume its responsibilities and give its opinion," Sauve said.

The emergency rules were imposed in the wake of the November 2015 deadly attack in which a group of armed attackers stormed restaurants, a theater hall and a soccer stadium, killing 130 people.

The rules offer more power to police to search homes and arrest suspects without judicial warrant.

At the end of July, French parliament approved a six-month extension of the emergency rules after a truck assault in the southern city of Nice which killed 84 people.

Despite persistent terror risks, prolonging the state of emergency gives fuel to domestic critics of the French government who say the law would undermine the Republic's values and freedom of expression and right to assembly. Endit