This decision was made during a security meeting held at the Élysée Palace with President Emmanuel Macron.
The deployment, which is set to occur between this weekend and Monday evening, comes after France was placed on “emergency attack” alert, the highest level of the Vigipirate system, on Friday evening following the murder of a teacher, Dominique Bernard, who was stabbed to death by a young man who had previously been flagged as a serious threat to national security by French law enforcement outside a secondary school in Arras. President Macron labelled the act as “Islamist terrorism.”
In response to a concerning message received by the Louvre museum, officials decided to close the museum until further notice “for security reasons.” The message stated that there was a risk to the museum and its visitors, prompting the evacuation and closure. This measure was taken as a precaution during the current national emergency alert context, while necessary security checks are conducted.
In addition to the Louvre’s closure, later on Saturday, a bomb threat led to the complete evacuation of the Palace of Versailles and its surrounding park. Further details on this incident are pending.
The heightened security measures and deployment of soldiers aim to address concerns of potential security threats, particularly given the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, which has raised fears of its spillover into France.
People who had made reservations to visit the Louvre will be reimbursed for their bookings, as per the museum’s announcement.
In response to concerns that the Israel-Hamas conflict might have repercussions in France, the nation elevated its security measures to the “emergency attack” level within the Vigipirate system, enabling the rapid mobilisation of resources when required.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, speaking on TF1’s 8 o’clock news, described “an extremely negative atmosphere” in the country, drawing connections between recent events in the Middle East and the actions of the assailant in Arras.
The Vigipirate bulletin, a copy of which has been obtained by AFP, stressed that the heightened security is particularly necessary due to France’s exposure with events like the Rugby World Cup and the Middle East situation contributing to an already significantly deteriorating international geopolitical landscape.
The attack in Arras coincides with the upcoming commemoration of the murder of Samuel Paty, a history and geography teacher who was beheaded on 16 October 2020 after showing caricatures of Mohammed during a lesson on freedom of expression.
Operation Sentinelle was originally launched in 2015 by then-President François Hollande following the Charlie Hebdo and Hypercacher kosher supermarket attacks.
The Arras attacker, Mohammed Mogouchkov, had recently been under the surveillance of the Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI). He was arrested on Thursday for a weapon and phone check, including examination of encrypted messages, before being released, according to Darmanin.
The political landscape has seen the right calling for a “state of emergency,” while the far-right has criticised perceived “loopholes” and called for the resignation of the interior minister.
