News: the Louvre Museum and the Palace of Versailles evacuated and closed following bomb threats
On Saturday, October 14, a wave of panic swept through Paris when the Louvre Museum, famous for housing artistic treasures, and the majestic Palace of Versailles were evacuated and closed following bomb threats. This drastic measure follows the raising of the alert level to “emergency attack” in France, after the knife attack which cost the life of a teacher in Arras.
In videos that quickly circulated on social networks, we can see visitors rushing out of the rooms of the Louvre museum and the Palace of Versailles, under alarm sirens. An atmosphere of fear and excitement clearly invaded the place.
The Louvre, which is the largest museum in the world and a symbol of French culture, had to close its doors due to “security reasons”. A museum spokeswoman said a written message indicating a risk for the museum and its visitors had been received. Faced with this situation, it was decided to evacuate the museum and temporarily close it in order to carry out necessary checks. The police established a security perimeter around the museum.
For its part, the Palace of Versailles was also evacuated after a bomb threat reported via an anonymous message on the site moncommissariat.fr. The authorities carried out the evacuation and the necessary checks to remove any doubts. The monument did not reopen its doors during the day.
These exceptional evacuations and closures took place while France raised its alert level to “emergency attack” following the assassination of a professor in Arras. This act was described as “Islamist terrorism” by French President Emmanuel Macron. In response to this situation, 7,000 soldiers were deployed to the territory to reinforce security.
These events are a sad reminder of the terrorist attack that took place three years ago almost to the day, when teacher Samuel Paty was assassinated. The terrorist threat remains a reality in France and the authorities are on alert to guarantee the security of citizens.
In this tense context, it is necessary to remain vigilant and show solidarity to face these security challenges.