After the Louvre, the Palace of Versailles also had to be evacuated on Saturday due to threats. As the television station “BFMTV” reported, the evacuation of the castle and its park began in the afternoon. The castle in the city of the same name near Paris is the most visited castle in France.
The Louvre in Paris had already closed hours earlier due to a written threat. The museum announced on X (formerly Twitter) that it would be closed for security reasons.
The museum received a message indicating that there was danger for the museum and its visitors, a Louvre spokeswoman told the French news agency AFP. Some Louvre visitors posted videos on X showing people leaving the museum, some in panic.
Around 15,000 people were evacuated on Saturday afternoon, the radio station “France Info” reported, citing police sources. Security forces are therefore in the process of examining the museum. With up to 40,000 visitors every day, the Louvre is one of the most visited museums in the world.
France is on the highest terror alert level after the fatal knife attack by an Islamist in a school on Friday and plans to mobilize up to 7,000 soldiers across the country by Monday. An Islamist radicalized young man killed a teacher with a knife and seriously injured three other people.
