France's interior minister presented a tough anti-terrorism bill to lawmakers on Wednesday as he warned of the threat of attack by globalized terrorists who exploit Islam in an "odious and injurious way.""I tell you with gravity: The ingredients of the threat exist; scenarios of violent action on our soil are real," Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said. Sarkozy has led efforts to strengthen France's laws against terrorism in response to the deadly July bombings in London. He and other top officials have countered speculation that Paris' opposition to the U.S.-led Iraq invasion might make it less of a prospective target for Islamic extremists.
The bill would allow mosques and department stores to install surveillance cameras and stiffen prison terms for terrorists and those providing support. It would also strengthen controls on movements of certain people and on their telephone and electronic exchanges and enable police to monitor citizens who travel to countries known to harbor terror training camps. Sarkozy sought to assure lawmakers the bill would not trample on civil liberties as some groups fear. Critics have even suggested the measures would turn France into a police state — a claim Sarkozy has dismissed as a "habitual argument."