The justice minister of France pledged on Wednesday to take tough measures against “the little jokers” responsible for the wave of erroneous bomb alerts that disrupted traveller traffic and airport operations on Wednesday.
Emails containing “threats of attack” and reports of abandoned luggage sparked evacuations at many airports, including Beauvais in Paris, Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, Toulouse, and Nice, causing hours-long delays.
By early evening, everything had back to normal at all airports.
For the third time since Saturday, the Palace of Versailles, a popular tourist destination west of Paris, has been evacuated so that bomb disposal crews may inspect the area.
“The little jokers” who were causing the false alarms will be apprehended and dealt with, according to Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti.
“They will be found, they will be punished and their parents will be required to reimburse the damages they have caused” he mentioned.
Following the deadly stabbing of a teacher at a school in the northern city of Arras on Friday by a man professing loyalty to the Islamic State group, and the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, France is on high alert.
Just before a minute of silence for the teacher who was killed was scheduled to occur on Monday, the school was evacuated owing to a bomb alarm. On Saturday, a bomb threat also forced the evacuation of the Louvre museum.
