The French government plans to increase jail terms for those convicted of belonging to terrorist organisations under a new anti-terrorism law, the Justice Ministry said on Wednesday.
Under the law, to be presented to the cabinet in October, sentences for "running and organising a terrorist organisation" could rise to 30 from 20 years, a ministry spokesman said.
Following the bombings in London on July 7, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said France planned to reinforce its information-gathering procedures and crack down on militants.
His ministry has said the new law would include measures on video surveillance and the storage of telephone data.
Someone convicted of being involved in a life-threatening attack as a member of a terrorist group could face 15 or 20 years in prison, up from 10 at the moment, the ministry said. An adviser to Justice Minister Pascal Clement said the measures had not been finalised. Although Paris firmly distanced itself from the US-led war in Iraq, the government believes France could also be a target.
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