Louvre Museum and Palace of Versailles evacuated; Paris under terror alert

Two of France’s biggest cultural landmarks and tourist attractions, the Louvre Museum in Paris and the Palace of Versailles, were evacuated on Saturday in response to alleged bomb threats, according to CBS News. The French government has put the entire nation on high alert after a teacher was fatally attacked in the northern city of Arras by a suspected Islamic extremist.

Paris police told CBS that officers had searched the entire Louvre Museum, most of which is a former royal palace on the banks of the Seine, after museum officials received a written bomb threat. No device was found and no one was injured, but the scene was dramatic: A police cordon was set up around the entire complex, alarms rang out and hundreds of visitors and staff members were rapidly evacuated from the museum’s various buildings and annexes, along with the shopping center beneath the Louvre’s central pyramid. 

The Louvre website posted a statement on Saturday reading, “For safety reasons the museum is closed. People who booked a ticket for today will be reimbursed. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your understanding.”

The former royal palace at Versailles was also closed and under evacuation after a similar bomb threat, according to French national police. CBS reported that police were still conducting a search of the palace and its famous gardens. 

The French government has deployed 7,000 troops as the perceived threat of terrorism rises in the wake of the stabbing in Arras and heightened tensions caused by the conflict in Israel and Gaza.