France will raise its four-step terror alert "Vigipirate plan" to the second-highest level, red, for the ceremonies of the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy on the June 6, French Prime Minister's office, Matignon, announced in a statement on Friday.

The terror alert will be raised from "orange" to "red" from May 24, and then extended to all the territory of French mainland during the ceremonies, Matignon said, adding that it was raised toorange from the Match 11 Madrid attacks and to red in the rail stations and airports.

French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has prepared all thesecurity steps with the agreement of the president of the Republic to ensure the security of the nation and guests present at the ceremonies, according to the statement.

The Vigipirate plan, implemented in Match 2003, has four levels: yellow, orange, red and scarlet, from the lowest to the highest.

US President George W. Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Britain's Queen Elizabeth and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder are expected to attend the ceremonies along with other world leaders.

Source: Xinhua