France's PM justifies terror laws amid critics

Ahead of parliamentary debate on the Socialists' constitution reforms, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Wednesday defended the draft terror bills that would allow to prolong state of emergency and strip French citizenship from people convicted of terrorism.

"The gravity of the situation requires us to be up to the challenges and their requirements whatever our sensitivities," he said, referring to rising critics even from the Left camp over the proposed law to strip citizenship from all dual nationals.

"The law sets the conditions under which a person may be deprived of French nationality and the related rights when he is convicted of a crime or offense representing a serious attack against the nation," he added.

As to the controversial law to make it easier to impose a state of emergency, Valls highlighted "the necessity to give an undeniable constitutional basis for emergency state regime".

Lawmakers will discuss the revised bills on February 5.

Source: XINHUA