France pushes for tighter border controls in wake of Paris attacks

France is urging its European Union partners to toughen the borders and push ahead with a long-delayed system for collecting airline passenger information. Interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve warned them on Friday: “We can’t take more time. This is urgent." He said the system would allow security forces to better track extremists and foreign fighters coming and going from Syria and Iraq. His call came at the start of an emergency meeting of EU interior and justice ministers aimed at fine-tuning a security response to the attacks in Paris a week ago, in which 129 people were killed.

Terrorists are crossing the borders of the European Union

Interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve

Despite the call for action, ministers are not expected to order any measures to be immediately introduced to restore calm among countries rattled by the attacks. Documents prepared for Friday’s meeting in Brussels indicate the ministers instead will try to push forward on priorities already identified after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January. Meanwhile, French president Francois Hollande will preside over a national ceremony on November 27 honouring the victims of the attacks. His office announced on Friday that the ceremony would be held at the gold-domed Hotel des Invalides, where Napoleon’s tomb lies and which is seen as a symbol of France’s military and international strength.

Europe cazeneuve