Terrorist Attacks in Paris: The Security Dilemma

According to the official numbers released by France’s Interior Ministry, 130 people were killed in Paris during a series of coordinated attacks on the night of Nov. 13. Terrorists targeted street cafes, The Bataclan concert hall, where 89 people lost their lives, as well as the Stade de France, where France was playing against Germany in a high profile friendly football match attended by President Francois Hollande. The terrorist group known as the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Shortly after the attacks, President Francois Hollande, gave a brief speech on the television channel France 2 in which he declared a state of emergency, closed France’s borders, and called for all available forces, be they military or police, to be deployed in Paris to prevent further attacks. The state of emergency, according to Le Monde, heightens police powers, reinforces control of the press, allows the police to search any house it deems suspicious, and establishes a curfew.

This is the first time since 2005 and only the second time in France’s history that the president has declared a state of emergency. The National Assembly extended the state of emergency on Nov. 16, which will remain in place until the executive sees fit to end it.

The state of emergency appeared useful the morning after the attacks, as the RAID (France’s special intervention forces) located the apartment of the individuals who organized the attacks. According to Le Monde, French police also closed three mosques accused of preaching radical thoughts, arrested 232 individuals, and seized 334 weapons.

The state of emergency and its extension is a contentious issue among the French political class. Currently, French political discourse is characterized by a real security dilemma.

Former Prime Minister and current Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominique de Villepin stated in an interview on November 29 with BFMTV that “[France] needs to limit the state of emergency to the minimum required.” For him, a prolonged state of emergency would considerably weaken institutions and democracy in France and would only benefit the extremist right wing party, the National Front.

Vehement criticism also comes from the Leftist Front’s charismatic leader Jean-Luc Mélanchon, who, in an interview with the Senate Television Channel on Nov. 16, claimed that the “The only result [of the state of emergency] was to diminish our freedom.”

To some extent, many critics have noted that the emergency measures taken by the government seem to overshadow earlier calls for national unity made by Hollande. According to Le Monde, some politicians have brought severe measures to the table, most of which are unconstitutional or damage foundational values of the French Republic. The most extreme positions ask for the internment of all the residents accused for radicalization or to stop refugees from coming into the country altogether. Amid this security crisis, many French citizens have called for France to remember its values of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.