French soldiers on patrol
Europe under threat: soldiers patrol the beaches in France
Due to credible ISIS threats, beachgoers in France are not allowed to bring large beach bags with them to the beach; armed soldiers on patrol are now a common sight; does this point to a new European norm?
Alert levels warning citizens all around Europe to be wary of terror attacks are still high. Dutch news stations reported on Monday that a man was arrested on a bus travelling on a highway towards Amsterdam's Schipol airport waving a pistol and shouting that he has a bomb.
Meanwhile, unusual pictures coming out of France show soldiers strapped with semi-automatic rifles patrolling the beaches due to a warning of an attack on sunbathers.
A French soldier stands guard at the beach (Photo: AP)
French soldiers patrolling the beach (Photo: MCT)
Beachgoers in Cannes are no longer allowed to bring large bags to the beach due to security concerns. Cannes Mayor David Lisnard said that the restrictions prevent people from bringing bags to the beach which might be filled with explosive material, and explained that the move is designed to make the police's jobs easier.
French soldiers patrolling the beach in France (Photo: MCT)
Is this the new European normal? (Photo: MCT)
Meanwhile, Pope Francis has called on Europeans to keep from generalizing all Muslims based on the actions of a few. He said that Europe shouldn't view Islam as a religion of terror, and claimed that doing so is unfair and unjust. He made his comments on his way back to the Vatican from Poland, a trip which began the day after a Catholic priest was slaughtered by ISIS militants in Normandy, France.
Additionally, ISIS released a video on Sunday urging those loyal to the terrorist group to commit acts of terror in Russia.
"Listen Putin, we will come to Russia and will kill you at your homes ... Oh Brothers, carry out jihad and kill and fight them," said a masked man, seen in the video driving a car in the desert while yelling and wagging his finger.
