The French Interior Minister,Bernard Cazeneuve announced in Paris that the country is targeting 84,000 personnel for the new security by 2019.
This is coming after the killing of a priest and other terrorist attacks in the Country.
Cazeneuve said that the force would take over some of the duties of Operation Sentinelle that has seen 10,000 soldiers deployed across the country since the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January 2015.
The minister said France previously had a national guard from 1789 to 1872, which was separate from the army and whose members played an important role in the country’s revolutions.
Cazeneuve recalled that President Francois Hollande had originally announced the creation of the National Guard force after two men claiming allegiance to the Islamic State extremist group carried out the deadly church attack in northern France.
He said that on Bastille Day in mid-July, another attack claimed by Islamic State in the southern city of Nice left 84 people dead.
He said that Hollande said the new force would begin operations as soon as possible.
The minister also disclosed that on Wednesday, the President convened a defence council meeting to be followed by parliamentary consultations in September.
Leave a Reply