Amid Heightened Security, French Leader to Eye Security All Summer

In this aerial view taken from video, part of the miles long queue of traffic outside Dover, England, waiting to cross the English Channel into France, Saturday July 23, 2016, as France is under a state of emergency. Heightened French border security checks caused massive disruption for many hours Saturday as some thousands of travelers tried to make the journey into France. (Sky via AP)
Part of the miles-long queue of traffic outside Dover, England, waiting to cross the English Channel into France, July 23, in this aerial view taken from video. (Sky via AP)

PARIS (AP) — French President Francois Hollande will reassess security measures once a week all summer amid fears of new violence after a deadly Bastille Day attack in Nice.

Heightened French security checks were causing severe delays Saturday for those trying to cross the English Channel.

Government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said after a French leadership meeting Saturday that officials are focusing on “adapting itself in all domains” to the evolving threat. At the meeting, the French government also discussed the shooting attack on a Munich shopping center that left 10 dead, including the shooter, and expressed support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government.

French investigators are still trying to determine whether the Tunisian driver who killed 84 people in Nice on July 14 had direct ties to the Islamic State terror group, which claimed responsibility for the attack.

Hollande increased military support for Iraq in its fight against IS terrorists as a result of the Nice attack, and French lawmakers extended a state of emergency in place since the deadly Nov. 13 Islamic State terror attacks on Paris.

Severe delays into France via the English port of Dover and the Channel Tunnel were slowing travel Saturday at the peak of the summer vacation season, when many British families visit Europe by car. Kent Police warned that some motorists were facing delays of eight hours before arriving at the port. Police distributed water to some who had been stuck in their cars for hours.

 

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