More than 18 people detained after airports and Versailles bomb threats in France

At least 18 people have been taken into custody after a series of bomb threats caused people to leave various locations in France.

The Palace of Versailles, the Louvre, and also schools, airports, and hospitals have been attacked or focused on.

According to authorities, most of the people causing the disruption are young.

The warnings are happening when there is a lot of tension in France. This tension started last week when a teacher was stabbed to death by someone who is believed to be a jihadist at a school in the city of Arras.

This week, there were four times when the Palace of Versailles had to be emptied because of bomb threats. Last Saturday, the Louvre in Paris also had to make thousands of people leave due to a bomb scare.

On Wednesday, several regional airports had to be cleared out due to an emergency situation. Some of these airports were in Lille, Nantes, Nice, and Toulouse. On Thursday, 11 more airports were also impacted.

Last week, France was put on its highest level of counter-terrorism alert because a 57-year-old teacher named Dominique Bernard was killed. The person being investigated is someone who used to go to school and is from Russia and has family roots in Chechnya.

Bomb scares have happened at schools too. On Thursday, six high schools in the Toulouse area had to be emptied because of a safety concern. Earlier this week, students at one Toulouse school were instructed to hide under their desks when a suspicious package was seen outside the building.

The Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, said last night that 18 people, mostly young people, were taken into custody within 48 hours. He emphasized that there was no particular danger to France.

The bomb scares were made using phones, emails, and a website that was created in 2020. People directly texted the police officers or contacted the official police social media accounts to spread these scares.

Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti cautioned individuals he described as “little jokers” that they will be identified and face consequences.

Authorities are using computer addresses and phone numbers to find out who is responsible for something. Making a false bomb threat is against the law in France. If caught, a person can be punished with up to three years in jail and a fine of €45,000 (£39,000).