French President Emmanuel Macron vowed Monday to lift a state of emergency that has been in place since 2015, but also to harden permanent security measures to fight Islamic extremism and other threats. Macron vowed to maintain France's military interventions against extremists abroad, especially in Africa's Sahel region and in Iraq and Syria. He added that European countries should work more closely to help political refugees while fighting migrant-smuggling and strengthening borders against illegal migration. Critics who fear Macron is trying to amass too much power organized protests over Monday's event. Critics have complained about the cost of the Versailles event and accused Macron of convening it for reasons of self-interest instead of national need.

Source: Los Angeles Times July 04, 2017 02:15 UTC