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| Paris attacks: St-Denis raid officers had 'never experienced such heavy fire' – live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 4.29pm GMT16:29 | |
| France’s security spending will be given special treatment in the EU budget deficit rules, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has said. | |
| We are facing serious terrorist acts. France, as other countries, has to have at its disposal supplementary means. I think that these supplementary means should not be treated as ordinary expenses in the Stability Pact (EU budget rules). | |
| Juncker did underline, however, that the budget leeway was “to ensure citizens’ security” and not to enable France to fight a war. | |
| 4.08pm GMT16:08 | |
| Abdeslam brothers were interrogated - then released | |
| Julian Borger | |
| The Guardian’s diplomatic editor Julian Borger has spoken to the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office, who confirmed the two Abdeslam brothers had previously been interrogated. | |
| The Belgian prosecutor’s office said that two of the attackers, Brahim and Salah Abdeslam, brothers from Brussels district of Molenbeek, had been interrogated earlier this year, but had not been detained because they were not seen as a threat. | |
| Brahim, who blew himself up outside a Parisian bar on Friday night, was questioned in February, after Turkish authorities stopped him on suspicion of attempting to go to Syria to fight, and sent him back to Brussels. | |
| “He denied to us that he wanted to go to Syria. When he was interrogated, he just said he had been trying to go on holiday to Turkey,” Eric Van der Sypt, spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office, told the Guardian. | |
| “There were no signs he was participating in terrorist activities. He was just a radicalised youngster, and there were no reasons to hold him.” | |
| Salah Abdeslam, one of the surviving attackers who is still at large, was also questioned, although he had not gone on the Turkish trip and the prosecutor’s office found no evidence he had gone to Syria. | |
| “Not to our knowledge,” Van der Sypt said. He too was not deemed a threat. | |
| The prosecutor added: “We have over 130 who we know have come back from Syria, and spent a certain amount of time there, and we can hardly follow up on them. We can’t keep an eye on everyone.” | |
| Simply increasing the resources of the police and the prosecutors would not solve the problem, Van der Sypt argued | |
| “It’s impossible,” he said. “You could double the effectiveness of the police and the prosecutors which would mean you could keep an eye on more people but would this mean such attacks can be prevented?” | |
| He would not comment on a proposal being discussed in the Belgian cabinet to put electronic tagging bracelets on radicals who return from fighting in Syria. | |
| “To start with it is a social problem. That is the basis to it all,” the prosecutor said. “The judicial answer is the last answer. | |
| “More important is prevention of people getting radicalised. There will never, ever be a watertight system to catch people who are going to Syria.” | |
| 3.55pm GMT15:55 | |
| These are the latest images from the French police search of the apartment in St-Denis, showing the extent of the damage to the building. | |
| Updated at 4.10pm GMT | |
| 3.41pm GMT15:41 | 3.41pm GMT15:41 |
| Marisol Touraine, the French health minister, has told parliament that of the 352 injured during Friday’s night’s attacks, 195 remain in hospital, including 41 in intensive care and three in a life-threatening condition. | Marisol Touraine, the French health minister, has told parliament that of the 352 injured during Friday’s night’s attacks, 195 remain in hospital, including 41 in intensive care and three in a life-threatening condition. |
| 3.40pm GMT15:40 | 3.40pm GMT15:40 |
| Here’s a video from François Hollande’s speech earlier, as he defends his country’s military retaliation, saying that jihadi terrorists have declared war on France. | |
| Updated at 4.09pm GMT | |
| 3.23pm GMT15:23 | 3.23pm GMT15:23 |
| French television has the devastating story of one of the Paris attack victims, Stephane Hache, 52, who lived behind the Bataclan theatre. | French television has the devastating story of one of the Paris attack victims, Stephane Hache, 52, who lived behind the Bataclan theatre. |
| He died after a bullet ricocheted, flew through his open window and struck him in the back. His body was not discovered until later, “over the course of the weekend,” a police source told BFMTV. | |
| His family were aware that he lived next to the concert hall and became worried when they did not hear from him. Police officers went to his flat where they discovered his body. | His family were aware that he lived next to the concert hall and became worried when they did not hear from him. Police officers went to his flat where they discovered his body. |
| Updated at 4.08pm GMT | |
| 3.19pm GMT15:19 | 3.19pm GMT15:19 |
| Britain’s Royal Navy will use its most advanced warships to support a French aircraft carrier as it deploys to the Gulf, as part of increased efforts against Isis. | |
| The defence secretary, Michael Fallon, says HMS Defender will provide air defence cover for France’s Charles de Gaulle carrier | |
| The British warship is on a nine-month deployment to the Middle East and can defend a group of ships against attack from the air, either by aircraft or missiles. | The British warship is on a nine-month deployment to the Middle East and can defend a group of ships against attack from the air, either by aircraft or missiles. |
| France’s aircraft carrier has left Toulon to help French operations in Syria. | France’s aircraft carrier has left Toulon to help French operations in Syria. |
| Updated at 4.08pm GMT | |
| 3.09pm GMT15:09 | 3.09pm GMT15:09 |
| My colleagues Angelique Chrisafis in St-Denis, and Luke Harding and Kim Willsher in Paris, have written a detailed breakdown of the raid today in the Paris outskirts. It includes this chilling account of the moment a woman detonated explosives, killing herself. | |
| A witness, Christian, 20, spoke to Le Parisien newspaper about the moment the woman blew herself up. | |
| During a 10 or 15-minute lull in the shooting I heard a woman shouting: ‘Help, help, help me!’ The police asked her to identify herself and to show herself. She showed her hands but she didn’t reveal her face. | |
| She withdrew them and then put them up again several times. They shouted at her: ‘Keep your hands in the air!’ They told her: ‘We’re going to shoot.’ | She withdrew them and then put them up again several times. They shouted at her: ‘Keep your hands in the air!’ They told her: ‘We’re going to shoot.’ |
| The shooting resumed. The police were firing from the roof of the building opposite. Suddenly there was an enormous explosion [from the window, inside the flat]. It was probably the woman who blew herself up. | The shooting resumed. The police were firing from the roof of the building opposite. Suddenly there was an enormous explosion [from the window, inside the flat]. It was probably the woman who blew herself up. |
| The windows shattered. Lots of objects from the apartment were thrown into the street, pieces of human flesh as well. They are still there. You can see a bit of the head, of skin, of ribs. | The windows shattered. Lots of objects from the apartment were thrown into the street, pieces of human flesh as well. They are still there. You can see a bit of the head, of skin, of ribs. |
| Read the full report here. | Read the full report here. |
| Related: St-Denis raid: loud booms and gunfire shatter silence of suburban morning | Related: St-Denis raid: loud booms and gunfire shatter silence of suburban morning |
| Updated at 4.07pm GMT | |
| 2.55pm GMT14:55 | 2.55pm GMT14:55 |
| Praise for police operation 'I want to tell them how proud we are' | |
| Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has provided more details about this morning’s raids in St-Denis. | Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has provided more details about this morning’s raids in St-Denis. |
| Speaking at the national assembly, he said: | |
| This morning’s intervention was made under extremely difficult conditions and the officers involved who I met after told me they have never never been subjected to such extreme violence or come under similar fire. | This morning’s intervention was made under extremely difficult conditions and the officers involved who I met after told me they have never never been subjected to such extreme violence or come under similar fire. |
| I want to tell them how proud we are, that they are great, that they are brave and that I have immense admiration for them which I am sure is shared by all French people. | I want to tell them how proud we are, that they are great, that they are brave and that I have immense admiration for them which I am sure is shared by all French people. |
| Five of them have been wounded. The people of St-Denis were extremely brave as well, as well as every member of the emergency services involved. | Five of them have been wounded. The people of St-Denis were extremely brave as well, as well as every member of the emergency services involved. |
| Updated at 4.12pm GMT | |
| 2.52pm GMT14:52 | 2.52pm GMT14:52 |
| The public prosecutor of Paris, Francois Molins, has announced he will hold a press conference today at 7pm French time, 6pm GMT. | The public prosecutor of Paris, Francois Molins, has announced he will hold a press conference today at 7pm French time, 6pm GMT. |
| 2.51pm GMT14:51 | 2.51pm GMT14:51 |
| Hundreds of British Muslim organisations have signed a joint declaration in a full-page advert in this morning’s Telegraph, organised by the Muslim Council of Britain. | |
| With one voice, British Muslims condemn the Paris attacks unreservedly. | With one voice, British Muslims condemn the Paris attacks unreservedly. |
| The aim of attacks like those inflicted on Paris and other cities across the world is to turn communities against each other. | The aim of attacks like those inflicted on Paris and other cities across the world is to turn communities against each other. |
| As Muslims, Britons and Europeans, we must stand together to make sure they do not succeed. | As Muslims, Britons and Europeans, we must stand together to make sure they do not succeed. |
| Full page @Telegraph ad from hundreds of Muslim orgs condemning #Paris attacks pic.twitter.com/0jodvRaObm | Full page @Telegraph ad from hundreds of Muslim orgs condemning #Paris attacks pic.twitter.com/0jodvRaObm |
| Updated at 4.05pm GMT | |
| 2.40pm GMT14:40 | 2.40pm GMT14:40 |
| Forensics officers are now scouring the scene of the police raid in St-Denis. | Forensics officers are now scouring the scene of the police raid in St-Denis. |
| 2.32pm GMT14:32 | 2.32pm GMT14:32 |
| 'Two deaths, possibly more' in St-Denis raid | 'Two deaths, possibly more' in St-Denis raid |
| Jon Henley | Jon Henley |
| Cazeneuve has told parliament that “at least two people, possibly more” died in the police operation this morning. | |
| It had been reported in French media this morning that a third person had died but was not confirmed by any official statement. | It had been reported in French media this morning that a third person had died but was not confirmed by any official statement. |
| It is also now known that two of the seven people arrested in the St-Denis raid were hospitalised, one of whom has now left hospital but remains under arrest. | It is also now known that two of the seven people arrested in the St-Denis raid were hospitalised, one of whom has now left hospital but remains under arrest. |
| Updated at 4.01pm GMT | |
| 2.27pm GMT14:27 | 2.27pm GMT14:27 |
| France’s interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, has announced that a further 118 raids were carried out last night, 25 arrests have been made, 34 weapons seized and 16 stashes of drugs were found. | |
| In total, 414 raids have taken place over the last three night leading to 60 arrests and 75 weapons have been discovered. The police have also enforced house arrest in 118 properties. | In total, 414 raids have taken place over the last three night leading to 60 arrests and 75 weapons have been discovered. The police have also enforced house arrest in 118 properties. |
| Bilan du jour des perquisitions administratives pic.twitter.com/GDS8iDO8Zc | Bilan du jour des perquisitions administratives pic.twitter.com/GDS8iDO8Zc |
| Officials have previously stressed that the raids are occurring under the state of emergency declaration and are not necessarily directly linked to the Paris attacks. | |
| Updated at 4.00pm GMT | |
| 2.08pm GMT14:08 | 2.08pm GMT14:08 |
| A Spanish security official has said French authorities have sent out a bulletin to police across Europe asking them to watch out for a Citroen Xsara car that could be carrying Salah Abdeslam, the man on the run after his brother was named as one of the suicide bombers in the Paris attacks. | A Spanish security official has said French authorities have sent out a bulletin to police across Europe asking them to watch out for a Citroen Xsara car that could be carrying Salah Abdeslam, the man on the run after his brother was named as one of the suicide bombers in the Paris attacks. |
| Spain’s El Espanol website published the document with the car’s description, naming Abdeslam. | Spain’s El Espanol website published the document with the car’s description, naming Abdeslam. |
| The document reads: “ABDELSLAM, Salah, responsible for the recent attacks in Paris, may have passed into this country.” It also provides details of the number plate of the vehicle. | The document reads: “ABDELSLAM, Salah, responsible for the recent attacks in Paris, may have passed into this country.” It also provides details of the number plate of the vehicle. |
| Updated at 2.15pm GMT | Updated at 2.15pm GMT |
| 1.56pm GMT13:56 | 1.56pm GMT13:56 |
| What we know so far | |
| Jessica Elgot | Jessica Elgot |
| We’re continuing our live coverage here in the aftermath of the dramatic raid this morning on an apartment block in the town of St-Denis, near Paris. | We’re continuing our live coverage here in the aftermath of the dramatic raid this morning on an apartment block in the town of St-Denis, near Paris. |
| Here’s what has happened over the past few hours. | Here’s what has happened over the past few hours. |
| Raid on St-Denis | Raid on St-Denis |
| Two people have been killed | Two people have been killed |
| Seven people have been arrested | Seven people have been arrested |
| How the raid unfolded | How the raid unfolded |
| Paris mourns attack victims | Paris mourns attack victims |
| France will remain a country of movement. | France will remain a country of movement. |
| German investigations continue | German investigations continue |
| Airstrikes in Syria | Airstrikes in Syria |
| Updated at 4.11pm GMT |