Topline
France’s famed Louvre museum and Versailles Palace both closed Saturday after bomb threats as the country remains on its highest level of alert for terrorism after a fatal Friday incident renewed worries about a string of high-profile attacks in the country in recent years.
Soldiers patrol the Louvre in 2017.
Key Facts
Officials ordered the evacuation of the iconic French institutions due to bomb threats, according to the Associated Press and AFP.
There were no injuries reported and the nature of the threats was not immediately clear, though a Louvre spokeswoman told AFP about 15,000 patrons of the museum left after the Louvre “received a written message stating that there was a risk to the museum and its visitors.”
The incidents at two of Europe’s most popular tourist attractions came a day after a man with suspected links to Islamic extremism fatally stabbed a teacher and wounded three others in northern France.
The French government subsequently placed the threat of domestic terrorism at the highest level Friday, with its president Emmanuel Macron denouncing the “barbarity of Islamic terrorism” and announcing Saturday the mobilization of 7,000 soldiers as increased security against such attacks.
Key Background
France has grappled with numerous deadly terror attacks in recent years tied to Islamic extremists, including the string of 2015 attacks in Paris which killed 147, attributed to ISIS, a 2016 attack in Nice which killed 86 and the 2020 beheading of a Paris-area teacher. French interior minister Gérald Darmanin said Friday there was “probably” a link between Friday’s stabbing and the conflict between Israel and Hamas, though he did not share any evidence of why he believed this is to be true. France is home to both the European Union’s largest Jewish and Muslim populations.
What To Watch For
How elevated concerns about terrorism in France weigh on the 2024 summer Olympics in Paris. Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet told the AP in June officials will make the city “the safest place in the world” during the July 26, 2024 opening ceremony. Some 35,000 police officers, 4,400 security cameras and another 2,000-plus security guards will patrol the event to safeguard against terror attacks including drone strikes.
Further Reading
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/10/14/louvre-versailles-evacuated-after-bomb-threats-as-france-on-high-alert-after-teachers-killing/