A total of nearly 100,000 police officers and members of the Armed Forces were deployed over the Christmas weekend in France as part of Operation Sentinel.

The Ministry of State mobilised 54,000 police, 36,000 gendarmes and 7,000 soldiers – some 6,000 more than last year. Minister Gerard Collomb said that the security of French citizens, as well as that of tourists, was his “absolute priority”.

Since 2015, more than 241 people have died in jihadist attacks in France, and the threat of further incidents remains at an “elevated” level. Six hundred and fifty churches and 45 Christmas markets received extra security over the weekend. A total of almost 7,000 Catholic masses were held on Sunday and Monday, all without incident.

READ ALSO 

Minister of State congratulates AMAF grads, opens Security Summit