LONDON, Nov 13, (APP/AFP) – French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Sunday that the country’s state of emergency, imposed after last year’s Paris attacks, will likely be extended as France gears up for presidential elections. “It is difficult today to end the state of emergency,” Valls told BBC television as France marked exactly one year since the November 13, 2015 jihadist attacks that left 130 people dead. “Especially since we are going to begin a presidential campaign in a few weeks with meetings, with public gatherings. So we must also protect our democracy,” Valls added in the interview with the BBC’s HARDtalk programme. “Besides, this state of emergency device allows us to make arrests, administrative checks which are effective… So yes, we are probably going to live a few months more with this state of emergency.”