France was put on its highest security alert on Friday after a 20-year-old man fatally stabbed a teacher and gravely wounded two other people at a school in the city of Arras in northern France.
He declined to comment on the investigation into the Arras attack but said a "jihadist atmosphere" had developed following events in the Middle East, where Israel is conducting a military offencive against Hamas fighters after their deadly rampage last Saturday. Macron's office said the soldiers would be deployed by Monday evening until further notice as part of an ongoing security operation in major city centres and tourist sites.
Darmanin told a news conference that 3,500 police officers would be deployed on Saturday and Sunday to provide security for the matches as well as to protect Jewish sites.