French video monitoring bill advances

PARIS, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Video monitoring of airports, stations and other public places has passed the lower house of the French parliament.

Interior Minister Nicholas Sarkozy drew up the proposal after the London transport bombings last July, the BBC reported.

"We are not in the least protected from this war because its instigators are unpredictable," Sarkozy said. "The possibility of violent acts being committed on our soil is a real one."

The lower house is scheduled to take up a final vote on the larger bill containing the measures Tuesday, and the Senate is expected to act in January.