[1/3]French police officers stand guard outside the Louvre Museum in Paris, closed for security reasons, as the French government puts the country on high alert following a fatal knife attack in northern France, October 14, 2023. Portal/Sarah Meyssonnier Purchase license rights
PARIS, Oct 14 (Portal) – French President Emmanuel Macron deployed up to 7,000 troops for increased security patrols on Saturday as bomb warnings forced the evacuation of the Louvre Museum a day after a teacher was killed in an Islamist attack.
France was placed on the highest security alert on Friday after a 20-year-old man fatally stabbed a teacher and seriously injured two other people at a school in the city of Arras in northern France.
The Louvre Museum, the Palace of Versailles and Paris’ Gare de Lyon train station were evacuated on Saturday after receiving bomb warnings that turned out to be false alarms, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
He declined to comment on the investigation into the Arras attack, but said a “jihadist atmosphere” had developed following events in the Middle East, where Israel launched a military offensive against Hamas militants after their deadly rampage last Saturday carry out.
“We believe that absolutely abhorrent geopolitics have enabled a certain number of people to act in the name of radical Islam,” Darmanin said at a news conference.
Macron’s office said the soldiers would be deployed until further notice until Monday evening as part of an ongoing security operation in major city centers and tourist attractions.
The latest security warning comes as France hosts the Rugby World Cup and less than a year before Paris hosts the Olympics, which include plans for an unprecedented opening ceremony outside a stadium and a parade along the Seine.
Darmanin told a news conference that 3,500 police officers would be deployed on Saturday and Sunday to ensure security for the games and protect Jewish sites.
France has been the target of a number of Islamist attacks over the years. The worst was a simultaneous attack by gunmen and suicide bombers on entertainment venues and cafes in Paris in November 2015.
Darmanin said 189 anti-Semitic acts had been detected and 65 arrests had been made since last Saturday, adding that several pro-Hamas associations were being dismantled.
France has banned pro-Palestinian protests and nine people were arrested at a small demonstration in Paris on Saturday despite the ban.
Reporting by Leigh Thomas; additional reporting by Michel Rose and Kate Entringer; Edited by Giles Elgood, Mark Potter and Christina Fincher
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