The Palace of Versailles was evacuated after a bomb threat on Wednesday morning, the facility said.
According to this source, an evacuation procedure was decided at around 10:20 a.m. at the request of the prefecture.
When contacted by AFP, the prefecture of Yvelines confirmed that this decision came “following a bomb threat reported on moncommissariat.fr”, a national platform that has been regularly receiving news of this type for several months.
According to the historic site, “This is a temporary evacuation with the goal of reopening as quickly as possible.”
“For security reasons, the Palace of Versailles is evacuating visitors and will reopen once controls have been carried out,” posted the palace’s official account on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Shortly before 10:30 a.m., while still on this platform, the National Police of Yvelines announced that they were responding to a “possibly suspicious package” on the Place d'Armes, directly in front of the monument.
At this point, the facility was unable to say how many people had already been evacuated. He made it clear that only those who were in the castle itself, and not elsewhere on the grounds, would have to leave the grounds.
Since the jihadist attack that claimed the life of teacher Dominique Bernard in Arras on October 13, unfounded bomb threats have been increasing in France.
In mid-October, the Palace of Versailles was attacked six times within a week. Several airports, museums and high schools have also suffered from these threats.
France has raised the alert level of the Vigipirate plan to the maximum level.