French President Francois Hollande asked cabinet ministers to maintain Vigipirate, France’s national security alert system, on its “highest possible level”, following the Tuesday attack on three French soldiers, patrolling a Jewish community center in southern France, said Stephane Le Foll, a spokesman of the French government, according to Le Monde.
“This will be the priority for France in the coming weeks,” Le Foll said, as quoted by Le Monde.
On Tuesday, Three French soldiers were attacked by a man with a knife while on an anti-terror patrol in the city of Nice. According to a police official, the attacker pulled a 20-centimeter long knife out of his bag and cut one of the soldiers on the chin. Then, he attacked two other soldiers, before riot police could arrest him.
France has been on high alert since last month's terror attacks in the Paris region by three Islamist gunmen, in which 17 were killed. More than 10,000 soldiers have been deployed around the country to protect sensitive locations, including major shopping areas, synagogues, mosques and transit hubs.
