By Smartencyclopedia with Agencies

PARIS – A series of anonymous email threats received by French authorities led to the dispatch of bomb squads and the evacuation of six airports across France on Wednesday.

Passengers were swiftly asked to leave Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, Toulouse, and Beauvais airports following the receipt of email tip-offs regarding potential terror attacks. Outbound flights were grounded while arriving passengers remained on board their aircraft as police conducted security checks.

The alerts began when officials at Lille airport received an anonymous email threat shortly after 10 a.m. on Wednesday. Similar threats prompted a mass evacuation and a thorough search of the control tower and two aircraft at Lyon-Bron airport, though no suspicious items were found.

At Nantes Atlantique airport, an evacuation was carried out due to a suspicious package alert. The French Civil Aviation Authority has reported that flights remain grounded at several airports, although some have started to resume normal operations.

These incidents occurred in the context of heightened security concerns in France. Last week, the country raised its counter-terrorism alert to its highest level following a fatal attack on a schoolteacher by an individual of Chechen origin who shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack. This attack coincided with what has been referred to as the “day of jihad,” as declared by the founder of the Hamas terrorist group, which recently conducted deadly terrorist operations on Israeli territory, resulting in the loss of 1,300 Israeli civilians.

The French authorities are actively responding to these threats and maintaining vigilance in the face of potential security risks.