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Paris attacks: President Hollande to hold security meeting

Meeting follows Sunday's massive marches but also comes amid questions over how militants known to authorities were able to launch deadly raids.

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French President François Hollande is to chair a crisis meeting with cabinet ministers on national security after last week's deadly attacks, reports the BBC.

The meeting comes amid questions over how militants known to the authorities were able to launch the raids in Paris.

The assault on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and separate attacks on police officers and a kosher supermarket killed 17 people.

More than 1.5m people marched in the capital on Sunday in a show of unity.

The French government said the rally turnout was the highest on record. Across France, nearly four million people joined marches, according to an interior ministry estimate.

About 40 world leaders joined the start of the Paris march, linking arms in an act of solidarity.

They included UK prime minister David Cameron, German chancellor Angela Merkel, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

President Hollande will meet his cabinet, including prime minister Manuel Valls and interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve, as well as the heads of police and security services on Monday.

Mr Cazaneuve announced that nearly 5,000 police would be deployed to protect France's 717 Jewish schools, and that troops would be sent to reinforce security over the next two days.

In London, prime minister Cameron is also consulting senior intelligence and security officials over Britain's response to the attacks in France.

Last week, Mr Valls admitted there had been "clear failings" after it emerged that the three gunman involved in the attacks - Saïd and Chérif Kouachi and Amedy Coulibaly - had a history of extremism.

Read more of this report from the BBC.