President François Hollande told a joint session of Parliament today that “France is at war” and that it will prevail in its fight against the militants of the Islamic State.
Hollande said that the ISIS had targeted France because it is “a country of freedom, because we are the homeland of human rights."
Addressing parliament, Mr Hollande warned that jihadists threatened not just France but the whole world. In his speech at the Château of Versailles, Hollande listed the names of the victims of Friday night’s atrocity in Paris, adding that many were under 30-years-old.
The attacks were planned in Syria, devised in Belgium and carried out with complicit French citizens. A total of 129 people died in the attacks on bars and restaurants, a concert hall and the Stade de France.
The French president listed the sites of other ISIS attacks this year; Denmark, Tunisia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Libya, in addition to the daily massacres in Syria and Iraq.
“That is why the necessity to destroy Daesh is an issue that concerns all of the international community,” he said. “I have therefore asked the Security Council to convene as quickly as possible to adopt a resolution demonstrating this common will to fight against terrorism.”
A minute of silence was held across Europe to commemorate the victims of Friday's bombings and random shootings in Paris.
Five terrorists died in the attacks and Francois Hollande said that a “state of emergency will be declared and the borders will be closed,” as he called for his nation to “show unity and cold blood.”
Earlier today, French police carried out a series of anti-terror raids across France and Belgium in the wake of the Paris attacks.
An international arrest warrant has been released for a man believed to have been involved in the Paris attacks. Belgium-born Abdeslam Salah is described by officials as "dangerous".
Stating that France is now "at war," President Francois Hollande urged for increased security spending and stripping dual citizens of their French nationality if they are deemed a terrorism risk.
Hollande said France will step up strikes in Syria, calling it “the biggest terrorist factory the world has known.”
"Our democracy has triumphed before over adversaries that were much more formidable than these cowards," Hollande concluded.
