France is bringing thousands of police into a seaside resort in preparation for the Group of Eight summit of world leaders, according to UPI. More than 12,252 police, gendarmes and troops have been mobilized in Deauville, on the north coast, as Thursday's meeting approaches, Radio France Internationale reports. Fears of revenge attacks for Osama bin Laden's death are one reason for the massive security. France currently holds the chair of the G8, which also includes Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and Russia. Police Chief Didier Lallement has said he wants to avoid a "ring of steel" around Deauville, but a special operations squad is on standby, the army has set up a command post on a hill overlooking the city and police climbers have been brought in from the Alps to keep protesters from scaling bridges. Items on the agenda include the NATO intervention in Libya, the war in Afghanistan and who would replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn as head of the International Monetary Fund. Protesters plan to march in nearby Le Havre, as well as Paris and Berlin.
