2015 was a difficult year for France as it was taunted by a series of attacks -- the Charlie Hebdo shooting and the terrorist attacks that happened in November. Following this, the country was placed on a three-month state of emergency status.
Now that the three-months are about to end, French President Francois Hollande is asking his cabinet to renew the measures for another three months. The President has asked his cabinet members to approve a draft law on February 3 so the request for renewal can be approved. The SOE is set to expire on February 26.
Once the SOE is renewed, it could help tighten security services in France without needing judicial oversight or even any search warrants. This will help the government track down the masterminds of the jihadist attacks on November 13, which killed a total of 130 people in Paris. Unfortunately, the President's request to renew the SOE is being criticized by the Council of Europe and French and UN rights experts. According to them, France has undermined democratic principles when it renews the SOE measure. On Tuesday, a panel of UN human rights experts said that the renewal of the measure was an "excessive and disproportionate" restrictions on individual's key rights. Hollande, however, ensures that the measures were not meant to last too long especially since they are a democracy that wanted to defend itself and its freedoms.
Ever since France entered into the three-month state of emergency, authorities have performed thousands of searches. Sadly, only few of these searches had any links to terrorist acts. A source was asked as to why France needed to renew its state of emergency. His response was that the country was "at war." Hollande cited there was a "terrorist threat" in the country. With this, they believe that the SOE could be extended as long as it was needed. Once renewed, the French government could easily strip off the French citizenship from individuals convicted of terrorist offenses and even place people under house arrest.
The proposal to renew the measure has produced a separation between the country and its government.
