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French PM: We've conducted over 2,000 raids since the attacks

Barbara Tasch   

French PM: We've conducted over 2,000 raids since the attacks
Politics3 min read

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls attends a meeting at the Interior Ministry in Paris, France, June 15, 2015.      REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Thomson Reuters

French Prime Minister Valls attends a meeting at the Interior Ministry in Paris

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Tuesday that authorities have carried out more than 2,000 raids since the implementation of a state of emergency after the terror attacks last month in Paris.

Valls said the raids enabled police to seize "320 arms," including about "30 weapons of war," he told Europe 1 radio.

As a result of the raids, he said, more than 210 people have been taken into police custody. And they have led to more than 250 legal proceedings.

The French prime minister also told Europe 1 that the terrorist cell responsible for the Paris attacks "has been neutralized, although I prefer to stay very prudent."

The November 13 attacks on Paris left 130 people dead and injured at least 300 more. French President Francois Hollande implemented of a state of emergency in France almost immediately that night, and French authorities have been conducting a manhunt to find all of those suspected of having a role in the attacks.

One of the suspected attackers, Salah Abdeslam, remains on the run. CNN reported on Monday that Western officials believe he may have escaped to Syria.

French President Francois Hollande (C), French Prime Minister Manuel Valls (L) and French Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem (R) leave after a minute of silence at the Sorbonne University in Paris to pay tribute to victims of Friday's Paris attacks, France, November 16, 2015.    REUTERS/Stephane de Sakutin/Pool

Thomson Reuters

French President Francois Hollande, accompanied by Prime Minister Manuel Valls, leaves after a minute of silence at the Sorbonne University in Paris to pay tribute to victims of Friday's Paris attacks

The French government has been heavily criticized following the attacks for not being able to stop it. Valls though, said he would not question the work of the country's intelligence services.

"I won't talk of failure. I won't talk of a flaw," he said. Valls praised the justice system and different government agencies for the arrests and what he said were foiled attacks after Paris.

Valls also detailed some of the government's plan to increase security in France, which includes the implementation of security gates in different train stations. He also mentioned that the state of emergency might be extended past the current February 26 deadline.

"My responsibility is to tell this truth. We have to live with this terrorist threat, which is durable, we have to prepare for it, be able to face it," Valls told Europe 1. "I don't have the right to live in fear, even if I've been living with this knot in my stomach, because I know, since the January attacks, that we can suffer an attack at any time."

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