Police lifeguards on France’s busiest beaches will carry guns and bulletproof vests for the first time this summer amid fears that terrorists could target holidaymakers. The decision comes as France enters its seventh month on highest alert under a state of emergency since the November terrorist attacks in Paris, which killed 130.
It also follows the murder of a policeman and his wife at their home outside Paris earlier this month. Officers of the CRS riot police are deployed as lifeguards at beach resorts in July and August each year. In the past they have abandoned their guns, flak jackets and helmets in favour of swimming trunks, sunglasses and T-shirts when taking up the much coveted perch on a lifeguard’s chair. READ MORE
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