Nerves in France are on edge now that the national threat level has been raised to the highest level following the deadly attack on a school in Arras, northern France. The Louvre in Paris had to close its doors for the rest of the day this afternoon for “security reasons”. A little later, the Palace of Versailles was also evacuated. In the end it turned out to be two false alarms.
LOOK. Images of the evacuation in the Louvre are shared on social media
A spokesperson for the Louvre reported this afternoon that the museum had received a written message stating that the museum and visitors were in danger. “We have decided to evacuate and close for the rest of the day while we carry out the necessary checks,” the spokesperson said. According to the French newspaper Le Parisien, there was a bomb threat while there were about 3,000 visitors in the museum.
The Palace of Versailles, one of the tourist highlights in France, also had to be evacuated this afternoon due to a bomb alarm. The report came via an anonymous message on the website moncommissariat.fr. Ultimately, the evacuations of the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles turned out to be a false alarm, says French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. The Parisian train station Gare de Lyon was also briefly evacuated, but nothing appeared to be wrong there either.
Up to 7,000 soldiers from the French anti-terrorist unit Sentinelle will be deployed this weekend, following the attack in Arras. The suspected perpetrator is said to have shouted “Allahu akbar”. French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of “barbaric Islamic terrorism”.
LOOK. France increases safety level to the highest level
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