LE PEN’S CHANCES?
after he opened fire on a police van.
The prosecutors office here leading the investigation has detained three of his family members for questioning.
They want to find out whether he was acting alone, where he got his weapons and other details.
IS claimed responsibility just a few hours after the attack, far more quickly than similar claims. This suggests that IS may have been trying to capitalise on the widespread attention from a high-profile attack at a time when Islamic extremism and security are at the centre of France’s presidential campaign.
The attack is deepening the country’s political divide, with the socialist prime minister tearing into far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, accusing the National Front leader of seeking to make political hay from the assault.
After Le Pen spoke scathingly yesterday of the government’s fight against extremism, Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve noted that Le Pen’s party in 2014 voted against an anti-terrorism law. In 2015, the National Front also voted against a law that beefed up resources for French intelligence services.
“She seems to be deliberately forgetting everything that has been done over five years to make people forget that she opposed everything, without ever proposing anything serious or credible,” he said.
He added that “as after every drama, the National Front candidate seeks to profit... to divide. “She seeks, without shame, to exploit fear and emotions for purely political ends.”
Conservative candidate Francois Fillon has pledged to keep the country under a state of emergency following the shooting.
He said: “the fight for the French people’s freedom and security will be mine. This must be the priority” of the next president.
Fillon promised to boost police and military forces. He also said that, if elected, he would launch a “diplomatic initiative” to promote international collaboration against Islamic extremists that would include all major actors, including the United States, European Union, Russia, Iran, Turkey and the Gulf countries.
France has been under a state of emergency since the 2015 attacks by Islamic extremists here.
Le Pen called on the government to restore the country’s borders immediately.
She wants France to exit the European passport-free Schengen area.
In a statement from her campaign headquarters here, she asked the government and judicial authorities to deal with all individuals on the French territory known for “their adhesion to the enemy’s ideology”.
She wants foreigners found to be Islamic radicals to be expelled from the country and French nationals identified for the same reason to face trial.
Le Pen has been campaigning on anti-immigration views and a strong security stance
It remains to be seen whether the attack will bump up the vote for her.
The two top contenders in the election on Sunday will advance to the run-off on May 7. AP