France is on high alert for an attack after Friday’s attack at a high school in Arras, in the north of the country, in which a teacher was stabbed and three other people were injured. The Government has deployed 7,000 soldiers as part of Operation Sentinel, which was activated after the attacks against the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in 2015.
The alarm was more palpable this Saturday in Paris, where the Louvre Museum and the Palace of Versailles had to be evacuated after two false threats. This has been confirmed by the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin. He announced on Friday the activation of the maximum anti-terrorist alert, after holding an emergency meeting at the Elysée with the president, Emmanuel Macron.
Security has been reinforced in all schools and armed soldiers patrol the streets of some of the busiest areas. Darmanin said that, after Friday’s attack in Arras, and in a context of escalating violence in the Middle East, “the atmosphere of jihadism, of taking action, has been clear since last Saturday,” he said at a press conference. .
The minister held a security meeting on Saturday afternoon after yesterday’s attack. In an attempt to reassure the French, he himself attended the start of the Rugby World Cup quarter-final match tonight at the Stade de France in Saint Denis.
In the morning they had to evacuate and close the Louvre Museum after a threat. Shortly afterwards, the Palace of Versailles was also evacuated after receiving an anonymous message. In addition, security has been reinforced in all schools.
Security is one of the most obsessing issues in France, especially ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris next summer. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has warned that France “will not give in to violence.”
The perpetrator of yesterday’s attack in Arras was booked by the police, monitored by the intelligence services and had even been subjected to control on Thursday, the day before taking the action. The officers saw nothing disturbing in his behavior.
His family was also radicalized. There are a dozen people detained, including his little brother, his sister, his mother and his uncle. Furthermore, his older brother is already serving a prison sentence, among other things for an attempted attack “that targeted the Elysée”, Darmanin confirmed.
The family arrived in France in 2008 and had applied for asylum, which was rejected. This family’s history has caused controversy, with many wondering why they had not been expelled from the country.
Darmanin said in his appearance that “there have been no errors in the intelligence services”, but he warned that from now on “all foreigners who are suspected will be expelled.”
Since 2017 there are 800 radicalized foreigners who have been expelled from the country, according to figures given by the minister. He has not explicitly linked yesterday’s attack with the situation in the Middle East, but he has given some data: 189 anti-Semitic acts have been committed since last Saturday and 65 have been arrested.
The minister, who two days ago had banned pro-Palestinian demonstrations and had ordered the arrest of all those who participated in them, said that France will proceed to dissolve several associations or groups “that secretly finance or are linked to Hamas.” “. This same Saturday one was held in the Place de la République, in Paris.
France has the largest Jewish community in Europe and also 10% Muslims. Since the beginning of the week, security had been reinforced in synagogues and Jewish schools. The institute where the attack occurred on Friday is secular and public.
Yesterday’s attack in Arras takes place three days before the anniversary of the death of Professor Samuel Paty, who was beheaded in an Islamist attack after showing his students cartoons of Muhammad published by the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.
