French President Honors Victims of Terrorist Attacks

French President François Hollande announced during a ceremony in memory of the victims of terror attacks on September 19 that he would reform the current system of state indemnities. Associations of victims organized this eighteenth annual ceremony at the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris and gathered hundreds of families of people injured in the attacks in the presence of government officials from all parties, such as former President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Hollande stated that the funds being allocated to victims of terror were no longer adequate and that the French government must assume a larger role in assuring that the needs of each family are met. According to his announcement, the “functions and regulations” of the current guarantee funds will be altered and improved: “Today, there are thousands of people concerned, traumatized and permanently affected… our resources will be reviewed as a result.” Hollande affirmed that the State’s main priority was to “set an example in its responses, procedures, and reactions” following these attacks.

Hollande did not mention the specific changes he plans on making in this new reform. These may include an increase in funds, as the sums allocated to the victims of the Nice attack were set at an estimated €300 to €400 million, while those allocated to the victims of the November attacks ranged between €300 and €350 million. Hollande also responded to certain critiques from his political opponents implying that his responses following the Nice attacks were insufficient. He assured his constituents that in the state’s effort to catch and prosecute terrorists, “truth and transparency must be made a priority in light of each attack and each aggression.”

The ceremony concluded with a reading of the names of the 230 French citizens who lost their lives due to terrorist attacks in the past year, both at home and abroad. Only a few months remain until the end of Hollande’s five-year term. With more and more French voters being directly or indirectly affected by these attacks, the question of national security will be one of the major topics in this coming election.