French high court upholds state of Emergency in France

A French high court has upheld a controversial law creating a state of Emergency in France since the November attacks in Paris, saying an "imminent peril" still exists.

The Council of State, the top administrative court, rejected a request by the League for Human Rights to suspend the state of Emergency, which gives more power to the police and the administrative authorities. It also allows house arrests for suspects, police searches without any control of a judge, closure of some associations such as radical mosques or Islamist groups, and a possible ban on meetings or demonstrations.

In its ruling today, the court said the danger that prompted the state of Emergency in France "following attacks of an exceptional nature and seriousness" has not disappeared.