Heightened security at Strasbourg Christmas market after attack in Germany
Security has been tightened at France's biggest Christmas market in Strasbourg, following the attack on a market in Germany last week in which five people died and 200 were injured. Authorities have also extended the use of a surveillance measure used at during the Paris Olympics to monitor a dozen individuals, many of whom have no previous criminal records.
Security at the Christmas market in Strasbourg - France’s oldest and biggest, attracting some three million visitors last year - has been strict each year since 2018 after a gunman who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State armed group killed five people and wounded 11 others.
Measures have been reinforced since the deadly car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, north-eastern Germany, on Friday.
Every single bag is searched and the few vehicles allowed in the market are carefully inspected.
Anti-terror law applied
Authorities have also been monitoring at least a dozen people using an anti-terror law used during Paris Olympic Games this summer, according to the Reuters news agency, which identified at least 12 cases of people being monitored during the Strasbourg market.
The legislation was part of a toughening of French security laws in response to deadly attacks and a growing political threat from the far right, and until recently, it was mainly used to monitor people after prison sentences.
Read more on RFI English
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