Six airports across France, in Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, Toulouse and Beauvais (near Paris), were evacuated on Wednesday for security checks following bomb threats, according to local reports.
The airports were evacuated at midday after some of them received emails threatening of an attack, according to the news outlet AFP, which cited a police source. It hasn’t been determined if the threats were real, but authorities proceeded with evacuations to “clear up any doubts,” according to the AFP.
The Nice airport, meanwhile, was disrupted after an abandoned baggage item was found in the terminal 1 this moening and “the situation has now returned to normal,” according to a post on the Nice Airport‘s X account.
The Nice airport is located 11 miles from Cannes where Mipcom, the international TV conference, is currently taking place with more than 11,000 industry delegates attending. Many of these attendees are expected to fly back today as the market wraps tomorrow. A spokesperson for the city of Cannes confirmed to Variety that the Nice airport was back to normal.
France has raised its security alert to the highest level within the last week amid the escalating conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas.
Just a few days ago, the country was shaken by the murder of a teacher in the French city of Arras, who was fatally stabbed by a man who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. The murder is being investigated by anti-terrorism prosecutors.
Mipcom director Lucy Smith said during her opening speech on Monday that “in line with recent events, and with France elevating its national security level, (the event had) also elevated all of (its) security measures at the market.”
“Your security is our priority,” Smith said, pointing out extra measures including “increased checks at all entry points to the Palais and the further deployment of security agents, inside and outside the Palais, as well as reinforced security across Cannes.”
France is one of the rare countries to have banned pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the wake of Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel which killed over 1200 civilians. French President Emmanuel Macron said during a televised address on Oct. 13 that “those who mix the Palestinian cause with justifying terrorism are committing a triple mistake: moral, political and strategic.”