Gee, who might be plotting to attack the churches? “White supremacists”?
“Christmas: Darmanin Asks the Prefects to Strengthen Security In Front of Churches and Shops,” translated from “Noël: Darmanin Demande aux Préfets de Renforcer la Sécurité Devant les Églises et les Commerces,” BFM TV, December 15, 2021:
Gérald Darmanin on Wednesday asked prefects to strengthen security in front of places of worship and shops as the Christmas holidays approach, due to the terrorist threat and the increased risk of robberies. The Minister of the Interior thus asked in a message that prefects “ensure the systematic presence” of police in front of “Christian places of worship.”
Symbolic places or sites that can bring together a large number of people during the end-of-year celebrations, such as Christmas markets or shopping areas, should also benefit from enhanced protection. The police presence will have to be “dissuasive and visible” with, if necessary, recourse to the soldiers of the Sentinel force and to the municipal police, in particular at the time of masses.
“Increased risk of violent delinquency”
In early December, two 23-year-old men were indicted and remanded in custody for a planned terrorist knife attack on passers-by, “around Christmas time,” in shopping malls, universities or in the city streets, according to a judicial source.
The prefects were also asked to “prevent armed robberies” by securing “shops and the flow of goods, at intersections or within logistics platforms.” “Cash transport, jewelry stores, tobacco shops (…) are exposed to increased risks of violent delinquency” during this period of closure and must be more closely monitored, this note emphasizes.
