Shortly before midnight on November 13, in the aftermath of terrorist attacks that left 130 dead and hundreds more wounded, French President François Hollande declared a national state of emergency. Not long thereafter, the Élysée issued a communiqué detailing its provisions, including the warrantless detention and house arrest of suspects, additional border controls, closure of schools and other public places, and expanded powers of search and seizure.

Days later, the government presented parliament with a law extending the state of emergency for an additional three months, beyond the twelve days allowed under initial decree, and updating the existing legislation. On Thursday the nineteenth, the National Assembly voted its overwhelming approval, 577 to 6, with one abstention. The upper house followed suit the following day, 336 voting for and 12 abstaining. Further developments appear likely, as the government has proposed amending the Constitution to formally enshrine the state of emergency, along with other exceptional measures.

A dramatic rhetorical escalation has accompanied this judicial response. Across the spectrum, politicians and commentators aver that France is now at war. Hollande set the tone, declaring from the outset that the attacks in Paris constituted an “acte de guerre.” Standing outside the Bataclan music hall on Friday night, he promised a “merciless” response. Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian identified the enemy not as an organization, group, or cell, but rather as a “terrorist army.” “We are at war,” affirmed Prime Minister Manuel Valls the next morning, repeating the word nine times in a ten-minute TV appearance. “We must annihilate the enemies of the Republic.” Opposition leader Nicolas Sarkozy concurred, adding that this war “must be total.”