France has increased its security patrols by up to 7,000 soldiers, as false bomb alerts caused the evacuation of the Louvre museum and other sites on Saturday, a day after an Islamist attack killed a teacher in Arras.
The highest security alert level was activated in France on Friday after a 20-year-old man stabbed a teacher to death and seriously injured two other people at a school in the northern city of Arras.
The Louvre museum, the Palace of Versailles, and the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris were cleared on Saturday after receiving bomb threats, which turned out to be hoaxes, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
He did not comment on the investigation into the Arras attack but said a “jihadist atmosphere” had emerged following events in the Middle East, where Israel is carrying out a military operation against Hamas militants after their deadly attack last Saturday.
“We believe that the absolutely disgusting geopolitics has allowed some people to act in the name of radical Islam,” Darmanin told a news conference.
The office of President Emmanuel Macron said the soldiers would be deployed by Monday evening until further notice as part of an ongoing security operation in major cities and tourist attractions.
The new security alert comes as France hosts the Rugby World Cup and less than a year before Paris hosts the Olympic Games, which include plans for an unprecedented opening ceremony outside a stadium and a parade along the river Seine.
Darmanin told a news conference that 3,500 police officers would be deployed on Saturday and Sunday to provide security for the matches as well as to protect Jewish sites.
