Dozens of towns in France plan to arm local police officers following the terrorist attack in Nice that left 84 people dead after a truck plowed through crowds on Bastille Day.
One may said that non-lethal weapons are not enough to stop the terrorists and that steps must be taken to arm law enforcement officers, according to RT News.
"Along the Promenade des Anglais [in Nice] the municipal police and the national police had the same mission – to stop a crazed vehicle or murderer," Mayor of Pau, Francois Bayrou, said. "Our weapons against incivility, such as the Taser or the flash-ball, are obviously worthless in stopping a vehicle."
Bayrou has given guns to 35 municipal police officers, noting that 75 percent of those who were given the arms had experience in the federal police or miliary and are trained in handling the weapons.
All of the officers will be required to undergo 57 hours of training to obtain authorization to use the guns.
Mayors of the small French towns of Belfort and Thonon-les-Bains have also decided to allow local officers to carry guns.
National law currently allows for local police to be armed, but the decision has to be taken individually by each mayor.
Of the approximately 20,000 municipal French police forces, fewer than half are armed.
