Palace of Versailles evacuated after second bomb threat in four days

France is on a heightened security alert after a teacher was stabbed to death
France's Palace of Versailles reopens after being evacuated for security reasons
French police stand guard in front of the Chateau de Versailles on October 17
REUTERS
Lydia Chantler-Hicks17 October 2023

The Palace of Versailles has been evacuated over a security scare for the second time in four days - as France remains on a heightened alert after a school teacher was stabbed to death last week.

The former royal palace's account on X, formerly Twitter, said: "For security reasons, the Palace of Versailles is evacuating visitors and closing its doors today Tuesday October 17. Thank you for your understanding."

BFM TV, citing police sources, said a bomb squad was dispatched to the site.

The palace, about 12 miles west of Paris, later reopened to visitors following a few hours of closure.

The local police body for Versailles said the police operation had finished and a security cordon had been lifted.

The Palace of Versailles - one of France's most-visited tourist attractions - was also evacuated on Saturday, along with the Louvre Museum in Paris, after receiving bomb threats.

The threats came a day after a school attack in the northern city of Arras last Friday by a suspected Islamic extremist, which prompted France to step up its terror alert level.

A secondary school teacher was killed and two other staff members injured in the incident.

On Monday, two Swedish football fans were killed in a shooting in Brussels, Belgium, prompting the city's terror alert to be raised to its highest level.

Addressing the incident on Monday night, French president Emmanuel Macron said: “Brussels was hit again by an Islamist terrorist attack...our Europe is shaken."

The vast Palace of Versailles was the home of King Louis XVI before his decapitation during the French Revolution. It will be one of the venues for the Paris Olympics next year, hosting horse riding.

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