France on alert
Paris Louvre and Palace of Versailles evacuated after bomb threats
The Louvre in Paris: the largest and most visited museum in the world.
© Miguel Medina / AFP
France cannot calm down: the country is currently on the highest terror alert level. Now two well-known museums have had to be closed due to threats.
The Louvre in Paris had to be evacuated on Saturday because of a written threat. The museum received a message indicating that there was danger for the museum and its visitors, a Louvre spokeswoman told the French news agency AFP. The museum had previously announced on X (formerly Twitter) in the early afternoon that it would be closed for security reasons. Media reported a bomb threat. Some Louvre visitors posted videos on X showing people leaving the museum, some in panic.
The museum received a message indicating that there was danger for the museum and its visitors, a Louvre spokeswoman told the French news agency AFP. Some Louvre visitors posted videos on X showing people leaving the museum, some in panic.
Around 15,000 people were evacuated on Saturday afternoon, the radio station “France Info” reported, citing police sources. Security forces are therefore in the process of examining the museum. With up to 40,000 visitors every day, the Louvre is one of the most visited museums in the world.
After the Louvre, the Palace of Versailles also had to be evacuated due to threats. The evacuation of the castle and its park began in the afternoon, reported the television station “BFMTV”. The castle in the city of the same name near Paris is the most visited castle in France.
France: Highest terror alert level declared
France is on the highest terror alert level after the fatal knife attack by an Islamist in a school on Friday and plans to mobilize up to 7,000 soldiers across the country by Monday. An Islamist radicalized young man killed a teacher with a knife and seriously injured three other people.
In Liechtenstein, meanwhile, there was a lockdown in the capital on Saturday morning Vaduz after a bomb threat was lifted because no explosives were found. A man who wanted to “support Palestine” had made anonymous threats there, the police said. The warning came on Friday evening while a street party was taking place in Vaduz and the national soccer team was playing. Large parts of Vaduz were then sealed off.