France state of emergency to remain till Daesh defeat: PM

France says the state of emergency put in place after last November’s deadly terror attacks by Daesh in and around Paris will be extended until the world could totally get rid of the Takfiri terror group.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in an interview with BBC Europe that France would seek to keep the state of emergency in place until the end of what he called the “global war” against Daesh terrorists.

“As long as the threat is there, we must use all the means,” he said, adding the state of emergency should stay in place “until we can get rid of Daesh.”

The French premier also called for a “total, global and ruthless” war against Daesh, which has swathes of land under control in Iraq and Syria since June 2014.

The state of emergency was imposed after assailants struck at least six different venues in and around Paris on November 13, 2015. The terrorist attacks, claimed by Daesh, left 130 people dead and over 350 others wounded.

The exceptional measures adopted under the state of emergency empower the French police to keep people in their homes without trial, searching houses without judicial approval and blocking suspicious websites.

The new measures also include a ban on public demonstrations and allow authorities to dissolve groups inciting any acts that seriously affect public order in France.

UN rights specialists have called on the French government not to extend the state of emergency beyond February 2016 and instead ensure protection against any abuse of power while combating terror.

A number of French nationals are fighting alongside terror groups in Syria. 

Refugee crisis in Europe

Valls warned that the European Union faces a grave danger from the ongoing refugee crisis. 

He said the EU could not take all refugees fleeing the “terrible wars in Iraq or Syria. Otherwise,” he added, “our societies will be totally destabilized.”

Europe has been facing an unprecedented inflow of refugees fleeing wars and violence in Africa and the Middle East, particularly Syria.

According to Valls, Europe needed to take urgent action to control its external borders, emphasizing that “if Europe is not capable of protecting its own borders, it’s the very idea of Europe that will be questioned.”

“We cannot say or accept that all refugees ...can be welcomed in Europe, “ Valls noted, criticizing German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who called for her European partners to take on quotas of refugees.

He also said the EU needs to say in the strongest terms “that we will not welcome all the refugees in Europe.”

Last year, more than one million asylum seekers - the most since World War II - arrived in the European continent after making dangerous journeys by land and sea. 

Everyday, about 2,000 refugees arrive in the European Union, according to official numbers.

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