France issues warning to 'pranksters' making false bomb threats
France's Justice Minister said he'll crack down on pranksters behind false bomb alerts that have caused chaos at airports and tourist sites across the country.
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“Those small-time pranksters who have fun with false threats will be found and punished,” said Éric Dupond-Moretti on Wednesday after 15 airports became the targets of emailed bomb threats and left luggage scares leading to evacuation and hours of flight delays.
The threats continued Thursday, with Bordeaux and Nimes airports shut down for the second time in two days, and the airport in Montpellier evacuated – though only one flight has been affected so far.
Dupond-Moretti denounced “jokes that give birth to hysteria” and warned that those responsible will be punished, and if they are minors, their parents will be required to pay damages.
The Versailles palace also received a bomb threat on Wednesday – the third since Saturday, when the Louvre Museum was also evacuated due to a threat.
Schools throughout France have had to react to false threats as well, with six high schools in the Toulouse area having to evacuate on Thursday.
French security forces have been on high alert after Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October, and the stabbing of a teacher in Arras last Friday by a former student who has claimed allegiance to the Islamic State armed group.
Under French law, someone making a false bomb threat faces up to three years in prison and a 45,000 euro fine.
It is possible to require a perpetrator to pay back costs associated with the threats, including the mobilisation of bomb-detection teams, which would be the parents’ responsibility in the case of a minor.
(with AFP)
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