On 18th October (Wednesday), Six airports across France were evacuated after they received emails issuing “threats of attack”, a police source told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Lyon, Lille, Toulouse, Paris Beauvais, Nice, and Nantes airports were evacuated after what police described as either bomb threats or suspect packages.
#BREAKING Six airports across France evacuated after emailed 'threats of attack': police source pic.twitter.com/PPHRgnfteZ
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 18, 2023
According to sources privy to the matter, the evacuations at these airports near Paris were done to allow authorities to “clear up any doubts” that the threats might be real.
A spokesman for the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) confirmed that there had been “bomb threats” and “terminal evacuations” at four hubs: Lille, Lyon, Toulouse and Beauvais (north of Paris). However, the spokesman was unable to give further details immediately.
Confirming the evacuation, Lille airport tweeted, “Lille airport is being evacuated following a bomb threat. State security services are on site.”
Aéroport de Lille en cours d’évacuation suite à une alerte à la bombe.
— Aeroport de Lille✈ (@Aeroport_Lille) October 18, 2023
Les services de sécurité de l’État sont sur place.
While Nice Airport’s X account stated that it carried out security checks after finding an abandoned baggage item. However, it added that the situation has now returned to normal.
Following an abandoned baggage item in terminal 1, a security perimeter was set up to allow the usual checks to be carried out. The situation has now returned to normal.
— Aéroport de Nice (@AeroportNice) October 18, 2023
The development comes at a time when France has been placed on the highest possible level of security alert since Friday (13th October). Earlier on 16th October (Monday), a school in northern France where a teacher was stabbed to death in an apparent Islamist attack last week was evacuated following a bomb threat. The attacker claimed allegiance to the Islamic State.
The incident took place on 13th October (Friday) when a man later identified as Mohammed Moguchkov killed Dominique Bernard. As per media reports, Bernard was a literature teacher and he was killed outside the Gambetta-Carnot school in Arras.
Screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ during the attack, Moguchkov also went on to injure three other members of the teaching staff. The fatal knife attack took place on ‘Global Day of Jihad’ which was called by Hamas terrorists on the first Friday since the 7th October terror attack on Israel.
Moguchkov was later detained by the police and France initiated an anti-terrorist investigation into the case as the French government described it as an “Islamist terror attack”.
Similarly, top Paris tourist attractions were also evacuated over the weekend due to fears of a potential attack.
On 14th October (Saturday), visitors were evacuated from the Louvre Museum and Palace of Versailles for security reasons. They are two of the world’s most visited tourist attractions. Officials stated that they received a written message warning that there was a “risk to the museum and its visitors”, according to AFP. The museum decided to evacuate and close for the day in order to carry out “essential checks”.
