France will create a national guard to help bolster security in the wake of a series of terrorist attacks, President Francois Hollande announced in a statement released by the Elysee Palace.

The president said he had decided to form a national guard based on existing operational reserve forces, with the aim of creating a body "in the service of the protection of the French."

The decision came after a priest was killed in a Normandy church on Tuesday, whereas 84 people were killed when a truck driven into the crowd gathered in Nice for Bastille Day celebrations on July 14.

He added that the country's defense council would be convened at the beginning of August, followed by consultations with parliamentary commissions in September, with the aim of starting operation of the guard "as fast as possible."

France previously had a national guard from 1789 to 1872, which was separate from the army and whose members played an important role in the country's revolutions.