Bomb alarm, fear in Paris

for hours evacuated the Eiffel and the metro

PARIS – Bomb alarm at the Eiffel tower, then at a central subway station: for hours it is terrorism alert in Paris until the “ceased alarm” around midnight. The police evacuated the most important Parisian monument and the surrounding area, the Champs de Mars, after the company that runs the Eiffel Tower received an anonymous call around 8.20pm. Immediately afterwards, massive police forces intervened on the spot and calmly cleared the large tourist area where there were about two thousand people.

Shortly thereafter, the Saint-Michel metro station in the heart of the capital was evacuated for another bomb alert. Carpet inspections, then the alarm came back.

A police officer, who asked to remain anonymous, stated that the Eiffel Tower alarm went off following a phone call and the discovery of a suspicious package. Tourists were ordered off the tower and were directed to the sidewalks along the Seine. The whole area has been closed. The canine brigades have arrived in the area of ​​the Eiffel Tower and the adjacent Champ de Mars esplanade to check for the presence of explosives. 

Already in recent days the head of the French anti-terrorism has raised the alarm for high risk of a suicide bombing in France. “We must be clear – said Bernard Squarcini in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche- our country, due to the its history, its commitment in Afghanistan, its positions on foreign policy, the controversy over the full veil, is the subject of a particular interest by some radical Islamic movements “. Today” we are at the same level of threats of 1995 “all the alarm bells are on the red” and “there are objective reasons to be restless, the threat it has never been so great “. According to the head of anti-terrorism the threat looming over France is threefold: the French converts ready to act alone, a commando of al Qaeda Maghreb Islamic (Aqmi), the jihadists who go to Afghanistan or Yemen and return clandestinely to continue their battle on French territory. In particular with regard to Aqmi, Squarcini said he “expected attacks” in France: “Fifteen years ago, when we suffered the series of attacks in 1995, the threat came only from the east of Algiers. Now it has extended considerably “.

(September 14, 2010)