French President Requests Three-Month Extension of State of Emergency

The President of France, François Hollande, announced at a Congress meeting that he intends to extend the state of emergency in the country for three months and has called for French lawmakers to vote in favor of this decision. Hollande, who spoke on Monday, November 16, at a joint session of the National Assembly and the Senate, urged legislators to approve a bill that will be presented on Wednesday regarding the extension of the state of emergency by the end of the week. The joint session, known as Congress, is rarely held in France, and this is the first time during Hollande's presidency that such a session has taken place. The French Congress has special powers to amend the constitution, and a two-thirds majority can lead to constitutional changes. In this context, Hollande has called for constitutional amendments to 'allow responsible authorities to act against war-based terrorism.' He also requested that the constitutional change enable the government to 'strip citizenship' from those convicted of terrorist crimes who are 'born in France' and hold dual nationality. Hollande stated that 'the government must be able to revoke French citizenship from those who have convictions related to threatening national interests or engaging in terrorist acts.' Under current French law, revocation of citizenship is only possible for those who have acquired French nationality through another citizenship, not for those who are citizens by birth in France. In another part of his speech, Hollande reiterated that France would intensify its war against the Islamic State group in Syria in retaliation for the Paris attacks, which he described as 'an act akin to war.' He noted that the attacks in the French capital, which claimed 129 victims among those enjoying their evening in restaurants, bars, concert halls, and the national stadium, were 'an act akin to war.' He recalled that these attacks were 'decided and planned in Syria, prepared and organized in Belgium, and executed on French soil with the complicity of [several] French nationals.' Shortly after the bloody Paris attacks, Belgian police arrested several suspects in a raid on the Molenbeek neighborhood in western Belgium, home to a large community of Turkish and Moroccan immigrants and a major base for sending foreign jihadist fighters to Syria. Among those arrested and the attackers, individuals with French nationality have been listed, and it is reported that the main planner of these attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, holds Belgian nationality and is currently in Syria. Following these attacks, France threatened to intensify its assault against the Islamic State group and announced a 'widespread' airstrike by its fighter jets on Islamic State positions in Raqqa, Syria, on Sunday evening. The French President emphasized again on Monday that airstrikes would continue in the coming weeks and called for increased international cooperation in the fight against ISIS. In this regard, Hollande stated that he would meet with the Presidents of the United States and Russia in the coming days and would call for a United Nations Security Council meeting focused on the war against ISIS jihadists.