![A French soldier patrols outside Toulouse a airport on Thursday](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/world-news/2023/10/18/TELEMMGLPICT000353528310_16976402267020_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqDyn_kzCs85o7bFJrmLDpe_4Xpit_DMGvdp2n7FDd82k.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Six French airports evacuated after emailed ‘threats of attack’
Evacuations at Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, Toulouse and Beauvais airport near Paris
![A French soldier patrols outside Toulouse a airport on Thursday](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/world-news/2023/10/18/TELEMMGLPICT000353528310_16976402267020_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqDyn_kzCs85o7bFJrmLDpe_4Xpit_DMGvdp2n7FDd82k.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Six airports across France were evacuated on Wednesday after emailed “threats of attack”.
The evacuations at Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, Toulouse and Beauvais, near Paris, would allow authorities to “clear up any doubts” that the threats might be real, a source said. A statement from Lille airport said: “State security teams are on site.”
The evacuations came as a Berlin synagogue was attacked with Molotov cocktails early on Wednesday morning, reflecting an increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the German capital amid the escalating violence in the Middle East.
Direction Generale de L’aviation Civile, France’s civil aviation authority, confirmed the existence of “bomb threats” and said the evacuation of airports was under way at Lille, Lyon, Toulouse and Beauvais.
Beauvais airport, a hub in the Paris area for Ryanair and other low-cost airlines, released a message on its Facebook site that said “an anonymous threat” was received by several airports.
![Passengers wait in a car park outside Toulouse following the evacuation on Thursday](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/world-news/2023/10/18/TELEMMGLPICT000353528703_16976401132310_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=350)
At midday, flight delays were reported in Toulouse, Lille and Beauvais. Lille airport also redirected flights from Marrakesh, Geneva and Constantine.
France is currently on its highest state of counter-terrorism alert after the murder of a teacher in a suspected Islamist attack on Oct 13.
On Tuesday, the Palace of Versailles, one of France’s main tourist sites, was closed for a few hours after its second security scare in four days, with the attraction having also been evacuated alongside the Louvre museum on Saturday.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas has placed Europe on high alert, with Britain’s domestic MI5 spy agency chief warning that the war has increased the UK terror risk, singling out Iran as a cause for concern.
Gerald Darmanin, France’s interior minister, warned on Saturday that a “jihadist atmosphere” in the country was encouraging radical individuals to act via calls from Hamas.