Nearly 1,000 bomb threats have been recorded since September

False bomb threats have never been so numerous: more than 300 since the return of the All Saints’ Day holidays and nearly 1,000 since the beginning of September, franceinfo learned on Tuesday, November 14 from the Ministry of the Interior. Figures also announced by the Secretary of State for Youth Prisca Thévenot to the National Assembly.

More precisely, since the return of the All Saints’ Day holidays, 307 false bomb alerts have been recorded in France (289 concern schools), 996 since the start of the school year in September (of which 789 concerned schools).

According to information from franceinfo, the holidays did not help calm the situation since a peak of false alarms was reached in middle and high schools after the All Saints’ Day holidays. The week of November 6 was in fact marked by the highest number of bomb threats in schools since September, specifies the Ministry of the Interior.

More than 50 people arrested since September

Note that more than nine out of ten false alerts concern educational establishments. Next come airports (118 false alerts since October 16). On the other hand, this phenomenon is in very sharp decline in cultural places such as museums in particular or even in transport. Concerning the profile of the authors of these emails and messages, they are often minors, comfortable with computers.

Finally, regarding the arrests, the Secretary of State for Youth affirmed on Tuesday that “54 people have been arrested since September, including 30 in the last month”. Contacted by franceinfo, the Paris police headquarters added that among these arrests, at least 16 took place in the Paris region since September.

Bomb threats have increased since the jihadist attack which cost the life of teacher Dominique Bernard in Arras on October 13, in major monuments, airports or schools, disrupting classes.