Posted on 11/29/2005 10:33:19 AM PST by libertarianPA
PARIS - France's lower house of parliament overwhelmingly approved a new anti-terrorism bill Tuesday that would increase the use of video surveillance and allow police more time to question terror suspects. The National Assembly voted 373-27 for the bill, which still needs to clear a Senate vote in January before becoming law.
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, leading efforts to strengthen laws against terrorism in response to deadly July bombings in London, sought to assure lawmakers the bill would not trample on civil liberties, as some fear.
He told the National Assembly the measures would allow police to pre-empt terror attacks and not work "after the fact."
"This debate has paved the way for providing France with a more efficient arsenal," he said. "The idea being that the worst should be avoided and that we must give greater powers to law enforcement to avoid a catastrophe."
Communist and Green party lawmakers voted against the bill, while the opposition Socialist Party abstained.
The bill would allow mosques, department stores and other potential targets to install surveillance cameras and would lengthen prison terms for terrorists and those supporting them.
It also would enable police to monitor people who travel to countries known to harbor terror training camps and would extend the detention period for terror suspects from four days to up to six days.
France already has some of Europe's toughest anti-terrorism laws, enacted after a wave of terror attacks in the 1990s by Algerian Islamic militants. But officials want to fill perceived gaps exposed by the London attacks on July 7 that killed 56 people — including four suicide bombers — and improve prevention.
The bill would be the fourth addition to France's already substantial anti-terror arsenal since 2001.
Hmmmm... where have I heard this strategy before? Oh yeah! Three years ago when France voted NO on our resolution to invade Iraq.
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