France will deploy nearly 11,000 police for the climate summit in Paris, which begins a little more than two weeks after devastating attacks, the interior minister said Wednesday.

Bernard Cazeneuve said 8,000 police and gendarmes would be posted to carry out border checks and 2,800 would be deployed at the conference venue north of Paris.

He said 120,000 police and troops had already been mobilised across France since the attacks on November 13, which have triggered a state of emergency that will remain in place until February.

A total of 147 world leaders are due to attend the start of the UN conference, leading Paris authorities to shut down major roads into the capital on Sunday and Monday and make public transport free of charge.

With the country on high alert, the government has also banned major demonstrations by environmental groups that were planned for this Sunday and December 12.

Cazeneuve welcomed the cooperation of the march organisers, saying they had shown "a remarkable spirit of responsibility".

Holding Paris climate talks is 'best response' to attacks: Hollande
Washington (AFP) Nov 24, 2015 –

Going ahead with the UN climate talks in Paris is the "best response" to the terror attacks that killed 130 people in the French capital, President Francois Hollande said Tuesday.

In a speech to the French community during a visit to Washington, Hollande hailed the climate conference as "the most important event of recent years."

The decision to hold the November 30-December 11 climate summit is "our best response to the terrorist attacks" claimed by the Islamic State group," he added.

"No one has asked us to suspend, delay it because in fact it is the most beautiful symbol we can imagine after the tragedy in Paris and Saint-Denis."

Some 140 to 150 heads of state or government are due to attend.

Hollande spoke for about 20 minutes before several hundreds of French people at the French Embassy.

Flowers still lay in front of the embassy in remembrance of the victims of the attacks.

Condemning the assaults as an attack on the French way of life, Hollande urged expatriates to "continue to live."

"Living well, eating well… Our joie de vivre, our human qualities, our way of welcoming others, celebrating, culture — all of this was hailed by our friends around the world, and we must keep shining in this way."

After his speech, hundreds sang the French national anthem, La Marseillaise.

The French leader was all smiles for a dozen minutes as he shook hands, with many guests thanking him with a warm "merci."