France’s Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti has vowed to clamp down on those behind a series of recent false bomb threats that led to the evacuation of several tourist sites and airports.
France is already on high alert following a fatal attack at a school in Arras, northern France, and has raised its national threat level to the highest ‘Emergency Attack Level’.
On October 14, both the Louvre Museum and the Palace of Versailles were evacuated following bomb threats. Since then, the Palace of Versailles has been evacuated twice to allow bomb disposal teams to check the site, reports France24.
According to CNN, several airports across France have also been forced to evacuate due to security concerns.
On October 18, seven airports – Beauvais, Strasbourg, Nantes, Biarritz, Toulouse, Lille, and Lyon-Bron were evacuated after receiving bomb threats, while Nice airport was evacuated due to an unattended item earlier in the day.
Activity at all airports resumed as normal by early evening on the same day.
Dupond-Moretti has said that those behind the threats will be found and punished and their parents will have to pay for the damage if they are minors.
