French president wants to extend state of emergency until next May

French President Francois Hollande is seen at Paris 11th district town hall, France, November 13, 2016, during a ceremony held for the victims of last year's Paris attacks which targeted the Bataclan concert hall as well as a series of bars and killed 130 people. [Photo/Agencies]

PARIS - French President Francois Hollande said Tuesday he wanted to extend the state of emergency until the presidential election in April-May 2017, on the sidelines of the ongoing COP22 in the Moroccan city of Marrakech, the French press reported.

Faced with terrorist risks, "we need measures that are, of course, exceptional. And since there will be a presidential election, rallies in the coming weeks, the government has made me the proposal to extend the state of emergency and it will be submitted to parliament," Hollande said, as quoted by the French newspaper Le Parisien on its website.

Earlier on Tuesday, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls confirmed in Paris that he was going to ask parliament for a further extension of the state of emergency, beyond its normal term in January 2017. The state of emergency rules would, in particular, allow for house arrest and widen the possibility of searches. ?

According to the official agenda, the results of the first and second tour of the French presidential election will be published on April 23 and May 7 next year.