France to target 15 high-crime areas

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PARIS, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Law enforcement in 15 of France's high-crime districts will be stepped up beginning next month, Interior Minister Manuel Valls announced.

"The law and order mandate, which I am in charge of, must be resolutely focused on these districts and their inhabitants," Valls said. "This is about responding to the needs of those citizens who are often the most disadvantaged."

He declared the "Priority Security Zones" would have extra police personnel and resources to combat drugs, weapons and violence, France 24 reported Sunday.

The areas include the drug-riddled 18th district of Paris, neighborhoods in Marseille where Kalashnikov assault rifles are commonly seen. Another zone is the Moulins quarter in the northern city of Lille, where two people were killed by a gunman in a nightclub last month, the report said.

Rising burglary rates and car thefts in the historic town of Chambly will be met with extra policing, while increasing violent crime in the Neuhof area of Strasbourg will also be targeted, Valls said.