France tries to reassure on Christmas festivities

Paris sought on Tuesday to reassure the public about safety during year-end festivities after a suspected militant attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, saying security forces were working round the clock to prevent such violence.

French Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux met his German counterpart in Berlin hours before a truck mowed into crowds at a Christmas market there on Monday evening, killing 12 and injuring dozens more in the suspected terrorist attack.

The Berlin incident revived memories of the attack last July 14 in which a man drove a large truck into crowds of people celebrating the Bastille Day national holiday in the French Riviera city of Nice, killing 86.