French prime minister Manuel Valls attends the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris, France, November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier - RTX2SUHG

PARIS (Reuters) - The French government will ask parliament for a second extension to the state of emergency imposed in the wake of the November 2015 attacks in Paris, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Tuesday.

Speaking to lawmakers, Valls said France’s upcoming elections and its backing for the Western coalition fighting Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria meant that the threat of further atrocities could not be ignored.

“France must also be lucid about the threat,” Valls said. “That’s why we will be proposing an extension of the state of emergency to parliament.”

The state of emergency was last extended for six months at the end of July. Valls did not say how much longer he planned to extend it for.