French beach police start carrying guns

POLICE lifeguards on France’s busiest beaches will carry guns and bulletproof vests for the first time this summer amid fears that terrorists could target holidaymakers.

The decision comes as France enters its seventh month on highest alert under a state of emergency since the November terrorist attacks in Paris, which killed 130. It also follows the murder of a policeman and his wife at their home outside Paris earlier this month.

Officers of the CRS riot police are deployed as lifeguards at beach resorts in July and August each year. In the past they have abandoned their guns and flak jackets in favour of swimming trunks, sunglasses and T-shirts when sitting on a lifeguard’s chair.

Officers in charge of beach first-aid centres and their deputies will now carry guns in sand-proof holsters, spe- cially designed for use with beachwear. Bullet-proof vests will be kept near lifeguard posts. “We will be ready to act if there is an armed attack on a beach,” Nicolas Comte, a police union spokesman, said.

Some officers welcomed the decision, but others complained that they would look foolish carrying guns while wearing swimming trunks. “We will be swimming in ridicule,” said Frédéric Lagache of another police union, Alliance.