NICE, July 16, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Flowers offered to the victims of the terrorist attack of Promenade des Anglais are seen on a bench at seaside in Nice, France, July 16, 2016. The Islamic State (IS)-linked news agency Amaq claimed responsibility for the attack in Nice on Thursday that killed 84 people, reported French media. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan)
PARIS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- France has called on young people to join a reservist force in helping boost the country's security after the truck attack in Nice."I want to call on all French patriots who wish to do so, to join this operational reserve," said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve on Saturday after the IS-claimed attack.
New recruits will be used to boost the ranks of police and gendarmes. Volunteers must be between 17 and 30 years of age, have the right physical and moral aptitude and undergo military training.
There are now 12,000 volunteers of the same age categories in the reservist forces.
"We are going to reinforce the presence of security forces across the country," said Cazeneuve.
At least 84 people were killed, and around 300 more injured on Thursday night when a truck crashed into a crowd in the southern city of Nice during France's national day celebrations.
This took place only eight months after the devastating November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris which killed 130 people.
France was still on high alert from the 2015 attacks when the 31-year-old Tunisian man rammed the truck into the crowds of innocent people.
Actually, Cazeneuve has just warned in May that the terrorist threat remains "very high" in France.
While commenting on Monday that the country's hosting of the Euro 2016 football tournament was a success, Cazeneuve said again that "the terrorist threat remains" in France.
The minister also spoke highly of the accomplishment of the country's intelligence services, noting that some 150 people had been arrested in France for "terrorist activities" so far in 2016.
Then the attack took place, which caused a public outcry against the government's possible inability to deal with terrorist threats and protect the French people.
"In any other country in the world, a minister with a toll as horrendous as Bernard Cazeneuve's -- 250 dead in 18 months -- would have quit," said opposition National Front leader Marine Le Pen.
A French parliamentary investigation into last year's terrorist attacks has identified multiple failings by France's intelligence agencies.
A parliamentary commission was set up to assess the failure to prevent a series of attacks that killed a total of 147 people in 2015.
The commission highlighted a "global failure" of French intelligence and recommended a total overhaul of the intelligence services.
"Our country was not ready; now we must get ready," said Georges Fenech, head of the commission.
All the extremists involved in the attacks had been previously flagged to authorities, according to the commission. Some had past convictions, or were under judicial surveillance in France or in Belgium when they struck Paris.
The report said there had also been failings in surveillance when convicted radicalized criminals were released from prison.
The 31-year-old suspect in the Nice attack also had a record of violence and weapons offenses, and the truck he used in the attack was rented only several days ago.
Meanwhile, questions about the competence of the French security operation have been raised, as many fans were able to take fireworks into games at the football tournament despite heightened security, and there are still no security checks in the metro system of Paris.
