Terrorism, bomb threat psychosis in Europe. The alert level is increased

Europe faces bomb threats. Yesterday was also a day of great tension, especially in France, where dozens of complaints were made across the country. The alert is maximum and Paris has activated the highest alarm level of the Vigipirate anti-terrorism device: “emergency attack”. In fact, for the fourth time, the Palace of Versailles was evacuated yesterday. While several French airports, including those in Lille, where President Emmanuel Macron was with his wife, Nantes, Bordeaux and Montpellier, went on alert in the morning and some were evacuated again. On Wednesday, the alarm affected 17 French airports. But yesterday, also for the funeral in Arras of the teacher murdered last Friday by a radicalized former student of his, was a day of high tension and threats of attacks also affected schools and tourist sites. The risk is high enough to force Paramount to cancel the MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony scheduled for Paris on November 5th.

The reason, explained a spokesperson for the property, is linked “to the instability of world events. We have decided not to move forward with the 2023 MTV EMAs out of caution for the thousands of employees, crew members, artists, fans and partners who travel from all corners of the world to bring the show to life,” he added. are an annual celebration of international music. As we watch the devastating events in Israel and Gaza continue to unfold, this does not seem to be the right time for an international celebration. With thousands of lives already lost, it is a time of mourning.”

But in the meantime, due to the bomb scares in France, the first people have already been arrested: there are 18 and the majority are minors, as announced last night by the French Minister of the Interior, Gerrald Darmanin, who wanted to send a very specific message: «Let’s track everyone, via IP addresses or phone numbers. We will do this because these false alarms put our country at enormous risk.”
The war in the Middle East has heightened alertness in EU countries, especially after the attack in Brussels. Right here yesterday morning, a hooded man with a gun hanging from his belt was reported aboard tram 7. The report triggered a major mobilization of law enforcement. Still in Rome, at the Lepanto metro station, a bomb threat was triggered due to an abandoned suitcase. Police checks and bomb squad intervention at the scene confirmed there was nothing to fear.

The risks, however, also concern foreign citizens present in conflict zones. The US, British and German embassies, in fact, invited their citizens to leave Lebanon. “We recommend that US citizens in Lebanon make appropriate plans to leave the country, commercial options remain currently available,” the US embassy said in a statement. The recommendation from the British diplomatic headquarters in Beirut is of the same content, which also invites the British to “pay attention and avoid areas where demonstrations may occur”. From Berlin, Itamaraty appealed to citizens to register their contact details on a portal and be informed about security alerts in the country.