Big bags banned from Cannes beaches as attacks precaution

PARIS - The Associated Press

AFP photo

Vacationers in the French Riviera city of Cannes have been banned from bringing big bags to the beach for security reasons in hopes of deterring a terrorist attack.

Cannes Mayor David Lisnard says the restriction seeks to stop "bags that could contain explosives or weapons and allows police forces to intervene in a pragmatic way."
     
Lisnard said on July 28 that the ban on large backpacks, suitcases and other luggage would run until at least the end of October.
     
His decision comes two weeks after a Tunisian man used a truck to kill 84 people celebrating Bastille Day on the waterfront in Nice, 33 kilometers (21 miles) northeast of Cannes, and two days after a Catholic priest was killed while celebrating Mass in Normandy, northern France.