France: 18 Arrested After Bomb Threats at Airports, Palace at Versailles

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Facts

  • On Thursday, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced that at least 18 people in France, mostly youths, had been arrested in the span of 48 hours following fake bomb threats at the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre, schools, hospitals, and 15 airports — which prompted the cancellation of at least 130 flights this week.1
  • Among those arrested was a 16-year-old boy in Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône, a town northwest of Paris, after an emailed bomb threat was sent to his school. Roughly 1.2K people were subsequently evacuated from Jean Perrin High School, including about 1K students.2
  • Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti said Friday that 22 investigations were underway, adding that he would crack down on 'little jokers' — who could face two years in prison or a €30K ($31.7k) fine.3
  • The Palace of Versailles was closed for the fifth time in a week on Friday, with Mayor François de Mazières saying that such threats could impact the 10-15K people who visit the former royal residence every day. The Louvre, too, was forced to evacuate thousands last Saturday.1
  • Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said that these threats will from now on be treated as 'psychological violence,' adding that such a violation would be punishable by up to three years in prison and a €45K fine.3
  • While Darmanin emphasized that France was not under a specific threat, this comes as France was placed on its highest level of counter-terrorism alert last week after a teacher was stabbed to death by a former student in Arras. The suspect is a Russian national of Chechen origin.1

Sources: 1BBC News, 2South China Morning Post and 3France 24.

Narratives

  • Right narrative, as provided by The Telegraph. Europeans wouldn't be in a constant state of fear if they had taken warnings about immigration seriously. While migrants shouldn't all be cast as criminals, there is a correlation between terrorism and illegal migration that can't be ignored. This game of psychological warfare began long ago, and the ones to blame are sitting in the halls of European governments.
  • Left narrative, as provided by McGill Newsroom. There's a misconception about the correlation between crime and immigrants that's fueling hostility toward asylum seekers. While there are undoubtedly migrants who commit crimes — just as there are non-migrants who commit crimes — this shouldn't be used as an excuse to turn our back on those genuinely seeking asylum or associate them with terrorists.
  • Narrative C, as provided by Los Angeles Times. At a time when the world is already on edge due to real threats of violence, the people of France shouldn't have to face any more psychological terror. While these culprits may think it's a harmless prank, the forced evacuation of public spaces only intensifies an already heated moment in history. Furthermore, these jokes will come with consequences not if, but when, the perpetrators are found and arrested.