Security beefed up across Europe following attacks in Paris

Soldiers and paramilitary troops with semi-automatic rifles patrolled outside the Colosseum and inside St Peter’s Square as Italy joined the rest of Europe in beefing up security after the Paris terrorist attacks.

For decades, Europe has been mostly free of land-based border checks, but the attacks prompted officials in countries from Belgium to Hungary to reimpose spot inspections of vehicles.

In southern Germany, Bavarian finance minister Markus Soeder insisted the country needs to know who is entering, and criticised European borderless travel.