The Louvre Museum in Paris and the Palace of Versailles evacuated visitors and staff this Saturday, October 14, after receiving bomb threats. The government has put France on high security alert following the fatal stabbing at a school by a suspected extremist.
First modification:
1 min
The Louvre’s communications service said no one was injured and no incident was reported. Paris police said officers searched the museum after receiving written bomb threats.
The former royal palace of Versailles also received bomb threats, according to a national police spokesman. The palace and its extensive gardens are being evacuated while police examine the area, the spokesman said.
Alarms rang throughout the Louvre, a vast space also in a former royal palace in Paris overlooking the Seine River, when the evacuation was announced, and in the underground shopping center beneath its iconic pyramid.
Police cordoned off the monument on all sides, as well as the underground access, as tourists and other visitors streamed out.
Videos posted online show people leaving, some hurrying and others stopping to take photos, others apparently confused about what was happening.
The French government raised the threat alert level and is deploying 7,000 troops to increase security after Friday’s attack at the school. French authorities say a former student suspected of Islamic radicalization killed a teacher and injured three other people before being captured.
The government is also concerned about the repercussions in France of the war between Israel and Hamas.
The Louvre, which houses masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa, receives between 30,000 and 40,000 visitors a day.
Note in original language
#Palace #Versailles #Louvre #Museum #evacuated #receiving #bomb #threats