Louvre Museum forced to close and evacuate visitors after receiving a ‘written bomb threat’ as France is on high alert
THE Louvre in Paris has evacuated all visitors and staff this afternoon after it allegedly received a written bomb threat.
The museum said the move was linked to the government’s decision to put France on high alert after Friday’s fatal school stabbing by a suspected extremist.
The Louvre reported that no one has been hurt and no incident has been reported.
An unnamed police source said that bomb threats had been sent to the museum, local outlet BFMTV reported.
Cops cordoned off the area as tourists and other visitors streamed out of the museum.
The Louvre, home to masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa, welcomes between 30,000 and 40,000 visitors per day.
The French government raised the threat alert level and is deploying 7,000 troops to increase security after Friday’s school attack.
The French government is understood to be concerned about fallout in France from the war between Israel and Hamas.
Dominique Bernard, a literature teacher in his 40s, was brutally killed at a high school in Arras, France by a fanatic who also left two others fighting for their lives.
The horrific incident in France is currently being investigated by French anti-terror cops.
The attacker is alleged to be a 19-year-old “ISIS terrorist” and Chechen refugee named Mohamed Mogouchkov.
He allegedly murdered Bernard at the high school he attended in Arras, Lycée Gambetta Carnot.
According to multiple reports, Mogouchkov shouted “Allahu Akhbar” before using two knives to stab up to five victims.
French president Emmanuel Macron visited the scene of the killing on Friday.
“Terrorism strikes once again in a school, and in a context that we all know,” he said.
It followed the former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal calling on Friday a global day of rage against supporters of Israel – the so-called “Day of Jihad”.
Protests are currently exploding worldwide in support of Palestine.
France has officially banned pro-Palestinian rallies as Macron had called for calm amid fears of civil unrest.
Across the UK, thousands of people today have joined pro-Palestine protests amid heightening tensions in Israel and Gaza.
The Israel-Hamas crisis has claimed at least 3,500 lives on both sides since the Palestinian terrorist organisation launched an unprecedented surprise attack on October 7.
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