For the fourth time in six days, the Palace of Versailles was evacuated and closed for a few hours on Thursday, after a new bomb threat. A phenomenon that worries the mayor of the royal city of Yvelines. “This poses very big problems in terms of operation for the castle, it also causes financial losses, it also causes concerns for the world of tourism, for tour operators. This is a situation which must not continue,” demanded François de Mazières (DVD) on Franceinfo this Friday morning.
Although these alerts are fortunately false, the councilor nevertheless fears an effect on attendance at the castle if the situation were to continue. “It could have consequences,” he admitted. According to feedback from tour operators, “people are now hesitant to come,” said François de Mazières. “When you leave the United States, when you are sensitive to these security issues, perhaps you will postpone your visit,” he regretted. “It is known, it is a castle known throughout the world, so the information spreads, and sometimes it is amplified,” lamented the elected official.
On Thursday, the castle was closed again, for around two hours, as a security measure. It finally reopened around 4 p.m., after checks carried out. “All visitors with a ticket on October 19 for slots between 12 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. will be reimbursed automatically,” the monument later clarified. The castle had already been evacuated after bomb threats last Saturday, then Tuesday and again Wednesday.
According to François de Mazières, the perpetrators are “visibly people who were having fun”. “Some people initially thought they were making a joke. They must measure the consequences of their actions so that it does not happen again,” called the mayor, demanding that they be “very heavily sanctioned.” “We have to remind him so that it stops,” he insisted. According to the Penal Code, the perpetrators of these acts risk up to two years of imprisonment and a fine of 30,000 euros.
Thursday evening, on BFMTV, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin indicated that 18 arrests had taken place in the last 48 hours following repeated false bomb threats in monuments, schools and airports. This Friday morning, on RTL, Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti clarified that “22 investigations (were) underway”.