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Following the Arras attack, France went on “emergency attack” alert, synonymous with new security measures. Are these measures necessary? How far should security go in France? The franceinfo Talk welcomes Noémie Levain, lawyer at Quadrature du Net and Driss Aït Youssef, specialist in security and intelligence issues.
Friday October 13, a knife attack in an Arras high school did a dead person and three injured. Acts which recall the pain of the assassination of Samuel Paty three years ago, which nevertheless led to the implementation of prevention measures in schools.
France on “emergency attack” alert
In the hours following the attack on Friday October 13, the French government asked to strenghten “without delay” Security within schools. The country went into “emergency attack” alert. This level is the highest of the three in the Vigipirate plan.
Concretely, this level allows the exceptional deployment of resources, such as the soldiers of the Sentinel force, as well as the dissemination of information likely to protect citizens in a crisis situation. The “emergency attack” alert level is, in principle, set up for a limited period.
Bomb threats are increasing in France
Sunday October 22, the nearly 10,000 visitors to the Castle of Versailles were forced to evacuate the monument due to a bomb threat, the seventh alert in eight days.
These false alarms are increasing in the country, after the recent attacks in Arras and Brussels. Historical monuments, airports, educational establishments: evacuations are repeated day after day. As a reminder, the perpetrators of false bomb threats face a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros. But this penalty concerns adults, while many minors are responsible for these hoaxes. “Alongside this real threat, there are people who play with fears”, declared the Minister of TransportClément Beaune, who describes the authors of these false alarms as “big idiots, even big delinquents”.