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Paris In Security Lockdown For Climate Summit

Paris In Security Lockdown For Climate Summit

Around 120,000 police and army personnel will be on the streets of Paris amid unprecedented security as world leaders arrive for a global climate change summit.

A total of 152 heads of state and government are due in the French capital just over two weeks after terrorists killed 130 people in the city and left hundreds more injured.

Some 15,600 police officers will be on duty at all times in the Ile-de-France district of the capital, where the conference takes place.

The most serious threat remains a copycat terror attack, but security sources here say they must also be aware of the danger posed by radical environmentalists.

The city's police commissioner has banned all public street marches and demonstrations until midnight on Monday.

French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters: "We will be taking a zero tolerance approach to any violent activists who want to try to attack public order.

"With this heightened threat that our country faces, all resources are available to provide maximum security for the conference and the area around it."

A total of 40,000 delegates are travelling to Paris to attend the global climate conference, known as COP21, which will also be covered by 3,000 journalists.

Security sources say they are also aware of the possibility of environmental campaigners attempting to gain publicity by projecting "hostile slogans" onto famous French landmarks, like the Eiffel Tower.

Many roads in the French capital will be closed from Sunday evening as central Paris effectively goes into a security lockdown ahead of Monday's climate conference opening.

Two suspects from the 13 November attacks in Paris remain at large.

Salah Abdeslam reportedly escaped across the Belgian border a few hours after the atrocities. His suspected accomplice, Mohamed Abrini, is also on the run.