© Eric Gaillard / Reuters
Risk analysis... confirms the existence of a persistent level of threat," the French Interior Ministry said, commenting on its decision. It also added that fears are that Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) could be plotting further attacks on the territory of France.
Justifying the border control extension, the French authorities said France had been targeted in 22 planned terrorist attacks so far in 2017 alone. It added that five of these attacks were carried out by the extremists while five others were thwarted when in progress and 12 more were prevented from happening at all, AFP reports.
The authorities pointed out that one of the major threats to France comes from "internal mobility" within the Schengen zone, adding that crossing the internal borders of the EU still remains part of a strategy used by terrorist organizations, the French Le Point weekly reports.
The national border checks have proved their "usefulness" over the recent months, according to the country's government. The ministry informed the EU about its decision in a note sent to Brussels on October 3, adding though that controls will "respect the principle of proportionality."
The European Commission confirmed on Thursday that it had received France's notification concerning the extension of the border controls along with the similar documents submitted by Germany and Denmark, adding that it would "assess" all the notifications.
France abolished border checks with neighboring European countries under the 1985 Schengen agreement, but re-introduced them in 2015. The volte face followed a series of deadly terrorist attacks including the Bataclan attack in November of 2015, when 130 people were killed in Paris.
Comment: Border checks are for those who use roads and have no nefarious terrorist business. It is more for show and emphasis rather than results.