French President François Hollande praised his fellow citizens' response to recent terrorist attacks and touched on controversial plans to strip dual nationals of French citizenship in terror cases as he delivered his traditional New Year address.

In a televised speech from the Elysée Palace on Thursday, Hollande said he was "proud" of the French people's unity and composure throughout a gruelling year marked by deadly terrorist attacks.

"France is not done with terrorism", he warned, noting that the terror threat "remains at its highest level".

The French president's address came six weeks after jihadist gunmen and suicide bombers killed 130 people in coordinated assaults on Paris nightspots, in the country's worst ever terrorist attacks.

Hollande paid homage to the victims of the November 13 attacks and of January's deadly rampages in a kosher supermarket and the offices of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.

"These tragic events will remain for ever etched in our memories, they shall never disappear," he said. "But despite the tragedy, France has not given in. Despite the tears, the country has remained upright."

Hollande vowed to continue France's military campaign against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria and Iraq, which claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks.

He also touched on the heated debate over plans to strip dual nationals of French citizenship if convicted of terrorism, which has driven a wedge through his ruling Socialist Party.

Describing the debate as "legitimate", Hollande urged French lawmakers to make "the right choice" when they vote on whether to enshrine the measure in France's constitution in February.

FRANCE24