France has been on high alert for almost a week after a teacher was stabbed in an attack that is being investigated as a terrorist attack
France is on high alert after a series of security problems led to evacuations across the country.
French officials evacuated at least four airports on Wednesday after emailed bomb threats and sightings of unattended luggage, French news agency AFP reported. France’s General Directorate of Civil Aviation confirmed evacuations due to bomb warnings at airports in Lille, Lyon, Toulouse and Beauvais near Paris, AFP said.
Citing an anonymous police source, AFP reported that airports in Nantes and Nice were also evacuated, but this was not immediately confirmed. The airport in Nice published on
Meanwhile, CNN reported that airports in Biarritz and Strasbourg were also evacuated on Wednesday due to bomb threats.
After a piece of luggage was left behind in Terminal 1, a security area was set up to carry out the usual checks. The situation has now returned to normal.
— Nice Airport (@AeroportNice) October 18, 2023
While normality has now returned to some affected locations, the police source told AFP that evacuations were carried out to eliminate “any doubts” about the veracity of the threats.
Due to similar security concerns, the Palace of Versailles was also evacuated on Wednesday – for the third time in less than a week. The 17th-century palace had already been evacuated on Saturday because of a bomb threat and on Tuesday because of a suspicious object.
The Louvre Museum was also evacuated on Saturday due to similar security concerns.
Attack on school puts France on high alert: Teacher killed and two injured in knife attack at French school, suspected terrorism
Why was France on high alert?
A knife attack at a school in northern France on Friday initially sparked security concerns. The knife attack that killed a teacher and injured three people is being investigated as a potential act of terrorism, according to French authorities. They identified the alleged perpetrator as a Russian citizen of Chechen origin who was already under surveillance on suspicion of Islamic radicalization.
Following the attack, the French government raised its threat alert to the highest level and initiated increased police and military operations across the country.
So far all threats have been deemed false, but it remains to be determined whether they are related to Friday’s attack or tensions between Israel and Palestine. French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the tensions on Thursday, pledging support for Israel and condemning the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Government spokesman Olivier Veran said France should not be gripped by fear amid security warnings and evacuations, according to the Associated Press.
“This is what the terrorists are waiting for to terrorize us… We can be vigilant and I prefer to talk about a vigilant society,” Veran said in response to a question after the weekly cabinet meeting. “Vigilance, yes. Fear, no.
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