A day after a teacher was killed in an Islamist assault, French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday ordered the deployment of up to 7,000 soldiers for additional security patrols after bomb alerts caused the evacuation of the Louvre museum.
Following the fatal stabbing of a teacher and two other people at a school in the northern French city of Arras on Friday, France was placed on its highest level of security alert.
After receiving bomb alerts on Saturday, which turned out to be false, the Louvre Museum, the Palace of Versailles, and Paris’ Gare de Lyon railway station were all evacuated, according to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.
He refrained from commenting on the Arras attack probe, but he said that a “jihadist atmosphere” had emerged in response to developments in the Middle East, where Israel is waging a military onslaught against Hamas rebels in retaliation for their deadly rampage last Saturday.
“We think the most disgusting geopolitics have enabled a certain number of people to decide to take action in the name of extreme Islam,” Darmanin stated during a news conference.
The soldiers would be stationed by Monday night until further notice as part of a continuing security operation in significant urban areas and popular tourist destinations, according to Macron’s office.
Less than a year will pass before Paris welcomes the Olympic Games, which feature plans for an unparalleled opening ceremony outside of a stadium and a procession down the river Seine. The latest security notice comes as France hosts the Rugby World Cup.
In order to guarantee security for the matches and to safeguard Jewish sites, 3,500 police personnel will be deployed on Saturday and Sunday, according to Darmanin, who announced this at a press conference.
Islamists have targeted France in a number of incidents over the years, the worst of which was in November 2015 when gunmen and suicide bombers simultaneously attacked cafes and entertainment places in Paris.
189 anti-Semitic incidents have been reported since last Saturday, according to Darmanin, who also announced the dissolution of several pro-Hamas organizations.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations are prohibited in France, and nine individuals were detained on Saturday at a minor rally there.