The Palace of Versailles, which was evacuated again early Tuesday afternoon after a bomb threat, is now open again, the establishment confirmed on its X account.
• Also read: Teacher killed in France: facility evacuated after bomb threat
• Also read: Fear of attacks in France: Louvre and Versailles evacuated after alarm
The castle had already been evacuated on Saturday afternoon after a bomb threat was spread by an anonymous message on the website moncommissariat.fr, as France lives in fear of attacks.
“For security reasons, the Palace of Versailles is evacuating its visitors and closing its doors today,” the establishment announced on its X account (formerly Twitter).
Tuesday’s warning came on the same website and is “not taken lightly,” a source familiar with the matter said.
🇫🇷 Dear visitors,
For security reasons, the Palace of Versailles is evacuating visitors and closing its doors today, Tuesday, October 17th.
We thank you for your understanding. pic.twitter.com/4R9NlVhIos— Palace of Versailles (@CVersailles) October 17, 2023
The evacuation of visitors was almost complete at around 1:15 p.m. and “mine clearers will work after the castle has been completely cleared,” a police source said.
“We hope to reopen as soon as possible,” said the facility’s press service, which could not provide information on the number of people evacuated.
At this time, at the end of the peak tourist season, according to the press service, between 10 and 15 thousand visitors flock to the entire huge area where the castle of King Louis XIV is located.
A state of “attack emergency,” the highest level of the Vigipirate vigilance and protection system, has been ordered in France after a knife attack that left a teacher dead in Arras on Friday.
According to Education Minister Gabriel Attal, bomb threats have increased since the start of the school year, with 168 alarms in schools since the beginning of September.