“The throne of Louis XIV will fall. See you. “Evacuate”: A 37-year-old was sentenced to eight months in prison on Monday for having ordered the evacuation of the Palace of Versailles by making a false bomb threat.
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“I’m sorry, I’m sorry for the people and the castle,” murmured Montag at the end of the immediate appearance hearing at the Versailles criminal court, where this man was being treated for schizophrenia.
He was arrested on Friday, a day after his false alarm.
While bomb threats at airports and public places in France have multiplied since the Arras attack on October 13, the Palace of Versailles has been particularly affected, with seven false alarms and as many evacuations in nine days.
According to figures released by the Chancellery on Monday morning, 64 judicial investigations into bomb threats have been launched since the jihadist attack that claimed the life of French teacher Dominique Bernard.
The lawyer for the Palace of Versailles, Me Cyrille Mayoux, confirmed on Monday that the damage caused to the facility as a result of Thursday’s evacuation had not yet been quantified, citing “an order of magnitude of 100,000 to 150,000 euros.” He requested a civil referral to assess damages.
The defendant admitted making a call on Thursday after watching the news channels reporting on the earlier evacuations of the castle and telling an operator: “The throne of Louis XIV is going to blow up.” We see us. Evacuate.”
Due to the around 11,000 visitors present at the time the alarm was raised, the castle was evacuated.
A psychiatric report concluded that the defendant, a schizophrenic with paranoid tendencies who claimed he had not sought treatment that day, could be tried.
“He didn’t think for a second about the media issue, about Arras and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He is someone who is fragile and sick,” his lawyer Me Mandine Blondin argued to journalists after the hearing.
In fact, he answered the call from his father’s phone when the police called him back, although he refused to reveal his identity.
His suspension on probation comes with an obligation to provide psychiatric care and an obligation to compensate the institution.
The lawyer said her client was “relieved.” He assured that he would start putting money aside to compensate the castle.
A new hearing to decide the amount of damages is scheduled for February 26, 2024.
The other warnings targeting the palace were posted online on a government website and are more difficult to trace.