Macron talks up security in French conservative stronghold

By BARBARA SURK
Associated Press

NICE, France (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has traveled to the country’s Mediterranean coast to talk about internal security. Macron has yet to officially confirm that he is running for a second term in France’s presidential election on April 10. But his visit Monday to the French Rivera city of Nice had campaign overtones in a stronghold of his conservative rivals, including Valérie Pécresse of the Republicans party, who is seen by many as Macron’s most significant challenger. In 2016, an extremist drove a cargo truck into a Bastille Day crowd in Nice, killing 86 people and injuring hundreds. Macron on Monday cited the need to curb gang violence, domestic violence, drug trafficking and sexual violence.