Teen arrested over bomb threat in France

By AFP
October 21, 2023
French police stand guard in front of the Chateau de Versailles as tourists enter again after the Palace was evacuated for security reasons, in Versailles, near Paris, France, October 17, 2023. AFP
French police stand guard in front of the Chateau de Versailles as tourists enter again after the Palace was evacuated for security reasons, in Versailles, near Paris, France, October 17, 2023. AFP 

PARIS: A 16-year-old was arrested over a bomb hoax near Paris, police sources said on Friday, as authorities scrambled to halt a week of bomb scares at airports, schools and landmarks.

The spate of fake threats has hit a country on high alert since the Hamas attack on Israel and the fatal stabbing of a teacher in the northern French city of Arras last week.

The teenager was arrested on Thursday in Saint-Ouen-l´Aumône, a town northwest of Paris, over a bomb threat emailed to his school that caused the evacuation of around a thousand pupils.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the French authorities had made 18 arrests over false bomb threats on Wednesday and Thursday. Most of France´s major airports outside Paris were targeted, leading to evacuations, hours-long delays and dozens of cancelled flights.