CHRISTIAN churches in France are facing a “very high” terrorist threat as they prepare for religious celebrations tomorrow.
French Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin has warned security needs to be urgently beefed up in places of Christian worship.
France’s interior minister has called for the extra security from the Paris Games to continueREUTERS/Isabel Infantes
He warned churches should be on high alert
Darmanin’s warning comes amid high international tensions STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP
He said churches should be keeping a close eye on anyone suspicious as well as cars parked out the front.
Operation Sentinelle forces – the unit established following the horror Paris attacks in 2015 – may be deployed around churches during tomorrow’s celebrations, French media reported.
A strong police presence is also expected to hover around places of worship.
Tomorrow’s Feast of Assumption is a huge day in the French calendar, celebrating Virgin Mary’s ascent to heaven.
Darmanin said high international tensions have increased the threat of terror, with global attention on France – following the Olympics and ahead of the Paralympics – making the country a potential target.
According to the UK foreign office: “Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in France.”
The foreign office lists “places of worship” as a location to be wary of.
International tension is running hot as war rages in the Middle East between Israel and Iran’s proxy puppets.
The threat of jihadi maniacs launching attacks has increased in recent times, with a teen last week taken down in Vienna, Austria for his crazed ploy to target a Taylor Swift concert.
Austrian authorities said the 19-year-old admitted he wanted to kill as many people as he could – and himself – with knives and a bomb outside Ernst Happel Stadium.
Swift then cancelled her Vienna shows.
The spectre of terror is fresh in the minds of the French, who have endured horror incidents in the last decade.
The 2015 Islamic State assault on Paris killed 138 and left hundreds more injured in attacks that shocked the world.
In July 2016, a truck ploughed through crowds of people along the Promenade de Anglais in Nice, killing 87.
The jihadi driver was later found to be an extreme Islamist.
France recently deployed a huge security operation to keep the Olympics under control.
More than 60,000 cops and soldiers joined forces with police jetting in from around the world to keep the city safe from Islamist lunatics.
It was the country’s biggest deployment of troops since the Second World War.
Terror plots were foiled before the Games began.
Darmanin said “several arrests” had been made in connection with at least two separate cases.
Police had a strong presence through the Paris OlympicsAP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell
Beefed-up security is urgently needed around churches, it’s been warnedREUTERS/Isabel Infantes
Patrols could be launched around sites of sanctuary amid the terror threatAP:Associated Press
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