Wave of Threats Continues in France: Evacuation of Versailles and France 3 Once Again

Today, the office of the public television channel France 3 in the city of Reims, France, was evacuated and closed after receiving anonymous threats. According to the 7sur7 publication, this occurred on Tuesday morning after the editorial staff received a letter containing threats of violence "in the name of Allah."

Following the receipt of this email, France 3 employees were asked to stay at home, and the police were called to protect the building and the few individuals present at the time of receiving the letter, as reported by the Chief Editor Mathieu Mercier. The office was able to resume operations by noon after a security check by law enforcement.

"The message mentioned an attack in the name of Allah, and in the current circumstances, we took it seriously," said Delphine Lenorman, the head of France 3's communication department.

Additionally, there was another report of a bomb threat at the Palace of Versailles today, leading to the emergency evacuation of its staff and visitors. The communication department of the Palace of Versailles announced the evacuation "for security reasons" on the social media platform X (Twitter).

"Dear visitors, for security reasons, the Palace of Versailles is evacuating visitors and closing its doors today, on Tuesday, October 17th. Thank you for your understanding," the announcement read.

The evacuation was completed around 13:15 local time. Currently, the police have reported that bomb disposal experts have started inspecting the palace's premises. The palace management hopes to reopen it later today.

This is not the first bomb threat report at Versailles in recent times. The previous incident occurred on October 14th, when the evacuation of visitors and staff was also carried out. The palace could only be reopened to the public the following day.

There has been a recent increase in reports of bomb threats at schools in France. According to France's Minister of Education, Gabriel Attal, the number of such reports has risen since the beginning of the new school year, with 168 false alarms in schools since early September.

On Tuesday, President Emmanuel Macron stated that "all European countries are vulnerable" to "Islamic terrorism." This statement came a day after an attack by an Islamic terrorist in Brussels, resulting in the death of two football fans from Sweden who had come to watch their national team play against Belgium. The match was ultimately not resumed due to the attack on the fans.