Typical French......

[trt]

Its been 24 hours and one man is keeping a whole police force at bay.
They have tried stun grenades but 3 police have been hurt,

Why dont they just go in and end it one way or another?

The SAS wouldn't wait this long for one man to give up!

[Philtaz]

Dear me, there are some short memories around here.

The SAS almost certainly WOULD wait this long as there was no immediate danger to local inhabitants (already evacuated) nor hostages.

In case anyone has forgotten, this is the reason that anti terror units do not rush in all guns blazing unless there is immediate danger to life. As this man was already known to be heavily aremd, who knows what else may have been contained within the aprtment?

Watch the vid from 5.32 to 5.40 of what happened when some of the Madrid bombing suspects were holed up in their apartment as the net closed in around them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i5-x_ceiBg

[puternut]

And did I hear the news right - there were 300 police there for one man!!!!

Just a little case of overkill???

[FredPuli43]

puternut,been waiting for what was 'typical French' as the OP puts it, but now you've explained it ! Yes, 300 police. Some fonctionnaire (bureaucrat) has issued orders in triplicate, as everything they do requires three copies, but they got three times the men as a result. Doubtless the police would have got there sooner but they all had to fill in forms declaring their marital status, divorces, wife's place of birth etc etc, with supporting documents before doing anything; it's the French way !

[Philtaz]

300 police to maintain a cordon would be fairly typical IMHO.

Imagine the furore if he had somehow slipped the net? This piece of vermin could count 3 children shot in the head at point blank range amongst his vicitims. He'd rightly be deemed capable of anything.

[coccinelle]

That was 300 policemen over the 32 hour period. They were working shifts.... you don't work a 32 hour shift!

[puternut]

Apologies - I assumed wrongly it would appear that all 300 were there at the final standoff