‘Little jokers’: French officials believe young people may be behind series of fake bomb threats

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• A series of terror threats have forced the evacuation of France’s Versailles Palace three times in the last several days.
• At least 15 airports were forced to evacuate, and 130 flights were also cancelled due to fake bomb threats.
• Officials, who believe young people may be the ones responsible for France’s false alarms, are threatening the callers with prison terms and heavy fines.

France’s government is threatening prison terms and heavy fines for callers who make fake bomb threats after a rash of false alarms forced the evacuation of 15 airports and cancellation of 130 flights and shut the doors of Versailles Palace three times in five days.

French officials suggested young people and children may be responsible. Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti blamed “little jokers, little clowns” and vowed, “They will be found, they will be punished.”

French law allows prank calls to be punished by up to 3 years’ imprisonment and fines of $47,000, the minister said. He said minors’ parents could be made to pay for damages.

VERSAILLES PALACE EVACUATED TWICE FOR ‘SECURITY REASONS’ FOLLOWING WEEK OF TERRORIST THREATS

Police officers patrol during the funeral ceremony of French teacher Dominique Bernard, 57, who was stabbed to death at the school by a suspected Islamist extremist in northern France on Oct. 19, 2023. France has been on heightened alert since the incident.  (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)

“We don’t need this. We don’t need troublemakers, psychosis, at this moment,” he said Wednesday.

France has been on heightened alert since the fatal stabbing of a schoolteacher last week that was blamed on a suspected Islamic extremist who allegedly declared allegiance to the Islamic State group.

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A funeral service for Dominique Bernard, the French language teacher killed by a knife wound to the neck, was held Thursday in Arras, the northern town where he taught at the Gambetta-Carnot school.

French Transport Minister Clement Beaune said false threats were made against 17 airports on Wednesday, causing widespread disruption, the evacuation of 15 airports, cancellation of 130 flights and many flight delays.

“These false alerts are not bad jokes. They are crimes,” Beaune posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.