In France, a controversial bill to toughen security laws has cleared its first hurdle when the conservative-dominated Senate approved the legislation by a majority. Senators backed a first reading of the bill. The text will now be handed to the Lower House, the National Assembly, for debate in October. <br/> <br/>The new laws, a campaign pledge of President Emmanuel Macron, will replace a state of emergency imposed after the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead. <br/><br/>Some of them will become permanent under the proposed law, a move rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say is draconian.<br/>Under the state of emergency, authorities have the power to place people under house arrest, order house searches and ban public gatherings without the prior approval of a judge. The measures were extended for a sixth time on July 6.'