French MPs extend state of emergency by three months

French lawmakers in the National Assembly voted Thursday to extend a state of emergency in the country for three months after the devastating jihadist attacks in Paris.

The vote passed shortly after French Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned the lower house of Parliament of the potential for chemical and biological attacks.

The French Senate is set to debate and vote on approving the measure on Friday.

French President Francois Hollande announced the state of emergency shortly after the bloodbath on Friday night which left 129 people dead.

The state of emergency, based on a 1955 law which has rarely been used, gives the government and police wide authority to conduct searches and order house arrests, as well as order the closure of sites and handover of weapons.

Police chiefs can also prohibit the movement of people and vehicles in certain places, at certain times, or establish protection and security zones.

The government has not ordered measures to control the press, which are in theory provided for in the 1955 law, which was passed during France’s war in Algeria.

Since that war, the law had been used only twice in French history. The first time, in 1985, it was implemented in the overseas territory of New Caledonia, when clashes erupted in the archipelago.

It was then used in 2005 by the government of Dominique de Villepin when rioting erupted in suburbs across France. However, the provisions were not widely applied, with only a limited number of police chiefs complying with the measure.