Islamists who struck Russia also attempted to strike France – Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron said that the people who killed 137 others in a concert hall near Moscow were part of a group linked to the Islamic State. This group had tried to carry out attacks in France recently, but didn’t succeed.

This is why the French government raised the country’s security alert to the highest level on Sunday, according to Macron and Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. Extra soldiers will be ready to be on patrol in important places, like schools.

The Islamic State said they were responsible for the attack in Moscow on Friday.

Russia doesn’t agree with the United States that the Islamic State did the shooting in Moscow. They say Ukraine might be responsible. Macron said it was selfish and unhelpful.

Macron said that Islamic State claimed the attack and our intelligence services and main partners have information that it was indeed Islamic State who did it.

This particular group. In the last few months, they tried to attack our country several times. Attal later said there was a plan to attack the city of Strasbourg in eastern France, but it did not happen.

“The Islamic State said they were responsible for the attack in Moscow and also planned to attack European countries, so we raised our security level to the highest. ” Attal said this while at a train station in Paris.

“We will use special methods all over France,” he said.

Around 3,000 soldiers are currently involved in the “Sentinelle” operation, where they patrol places like train stations, places of worship, schools, and theaters. Another 4,000 people will be ready to take action if needed, Attal said.

France has stopped two potential attacks since the beginning of the year.

France has had many attacks by Islamist people in the last ten years. The scariest one was in 2015 at the Bataclan concert hall and some cafes and bars in Paris. Some people in Paris said it made them realize why security needs to be increased.

IT worker Raffele Alegretti said the Moscow concert hall attack reminds him of the Bataclan years, and it has left a lasting impact on him.

Macron said that France will work more closely with Russian intelligence to fight against groups that are attacking many countries. He mentioned this when he visited French Guiana.

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, did not talk about Islamic State when talking about the attackers. He said they were trying to escape to Ukraine. Russia started a war with Ukraine when it invaded the country in February 2022.

Putin said that some people on the Ukrainian side were ready to secretly bring the gunmen across the border. Ukraine says they didn’t do the attack. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Putin is trying to blame Ukraine for not stopping the attack in Russia.