French authorities are more than alert to secure the country from attacks from inside and outside. Plenty of bomb threats have hit the country putting it on high alert. Since Hamas attacked Israel, including the war in Gaza, French authorities have been busy investigating a week of bomb distress at schools, landmarks, and airports.
On Thursday, French police arrested a 16-year-old lad who sent a bomb threat through email. At least 1,200 people evacuated Jean Perrin High School where the suspect studied. After a thorough investigation of the site, authorities found no explosives. The minor’s exact intention remains uncertain.
According to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, on Wednesday and Thursday, authorities made 18 arrests over erroneous bomb threats. These threats mainly target airports outside Paris, delaying and cancelling flights and evacuating people.
Incidents that Put France on High Alert, Including Bomb Threat
Several bomb threats and violence in France left citizens and tourists worried and anxious about their safety. These bomb scares target hospitals, schools, airports, the Louvre, and the Palace of Versailles.
Last week, a suspected jihadist stabbed and killed Dominique Bernard, a teacher at Gambetta High School in Arras. The suspect is Russian (Chechen origin) and a former pupil. Likewise, airports made countless evacuations this week, cancelling at least 130 flights.
On Friday, a Grenoble high school evacuated twice in two days. Also, students and faculty staff left a high school in Bourg-en-Bresse for the same reason.
Wrongdoers made or sent their threats by email or phone through a website established in 2020. They also texted the officers directly and contacted the police’s official social media accounts. Authorities, on the other hand, use the phone numbers and IP addresses of the people behind the hoax bomb threat.
Keeping the ‘Little Jokers’ Under Control
“There will obviously be convictions. We cannot let this happen. I remind you that it is the parents who will pay the financial consequences,” said Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti.
He dwelled on his pledge to get tough on ”little jokers” who don’t have any sense of responsibility. Perpetrators will serve two years in prison with a fine of €30,000.
According to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, the punishment could be worse. Bomb threats are now a form of deliberated “psychological violence.” The offender could face three years in prison and a fine of €45,000.
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