Paris jittery, security upped as PM warns of chemical attacks
PM Valls made the remarks against the backdrop of an outward calm in Paris
Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Thursday warned of the terrorists behind last week’s Paris attacks using chemical or biological weapons as he urged MPs to agree to extend the emergency in France to three months.
Valls made the remarks against the backdrop of an outward calm in Paris that appeared to crack every now and then. A black suitcase left in a café in Rue de St Martin on Thursday morning sparked panic and calls to the police, who arrived promptly, but mostly it was a picture of normalcy in central Paris during the office rush-hour.
Security forces in Brussels and elsewhere in Europe were on the hunt for Friday’s attackers and their associates, while French investigators refused to confirm whether the mastermind of the carnage, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was among the two dead in Wednesday’s massive raid in the suburb of Saint-Denis.
Seeking an extension of the state of emergency, Valls told MPs: “What is new are the ways of operating; the ways of attacking and killing are evolving all the time. The macabre imagination of those giving the orders is unlimited. Assault rifles, beheadings, suicide bombers, knives or all of these at once. Carried out by individuals or commandos this time, particularly well organised.”
He added: “And today we must not rule anything out, and I say of course with all the precautions which can be taken, we know and we have to bear in mind there is always the risk of chemical weapons or bacterial weapons.”
The PMO said Valls’ reference to possible use of chemical weapons was not “new information on the status of the threat, but just a realistic observation”. A spokesman said: “Middle East experts know that Daesh (Islamic State) seeks and uses chemical weapons. To not consider this possibility would be a mistake.”
Reports from Brussels said Bilal Hadfi, one of the three suicide bombers who struck outside the Stade de France, was the focus of ongoing police raids.