French PM: More major attacks in Europe certain

More major attacks in Europe are a “certainty”, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told an audience at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

“We have entered — we all feel it — a new era characterised by the lasting presence of ‘hyper-terrorism’,” said Mr Valls, whose country was hit by two Islamist attacks in 2015.

“We must be fully conscious of the threat, and react with a very great force and great lucidity. There will be attacks. Large-scale attacks. It’s a certainty. This hyper-terrorism is here to stay,” he said.

Mr Valls was speaking at the three-day security conference in the southern German city.

“The force of the ideological fascination is formidable, and if we have changed era it is because this hyper-terrorism is in the heart of our societies.”

Jihadists from the ISIS group wrought havoc on the streets of Paris on November 13, killing 130 in a series of attacks on bars, a football stadium and the Bataclan concert hall.

That came after 12 people were killed in a January attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical news weekly, which had been in the jihadists’ sights since publishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2006.