#LouvreMuseuminParis; #evacuation; #FranceUnderHighAlert
Paris/CMEDIA: After receiving a written threat, all visitors and staff of the Louvre Museum in Paris are reportedly being evacuated and the museum closing early Saturday.
The museum was reported saying its move was due to the government’s decision to put France on high alert after a fatal school stabbing by a suspected extremist.
With the Paris police verifications in the museum is in process, the Louvre communication service said no one has been hurt and no incident has been reported.
When the evacuation was announced, alarms rang out through the vast museum in central Paris overlooking the Seine River, and in the underground shopping center beneath its signature pyramid.
The monument and the underground access was cordoned off by the Police from all sides as tourists and other visitors streamed out.
Online posted videos showed people leaving, some hurriedly and some stopping to take photos, others apparently confused about what was happening.
The threat alert level was raised by the French government and 7,000 troops were deployed to increase security after Friday’s school attack.
The French government being concerned about fallout in France from the war between Israel and Hamas, French authorities were reported saying that a former student suspected of Islamic radicalization killed a teacher and wounded three other people before being captured.
Between 30,000 and 40,000 visitors per day are welcomed by the Louvre, home to masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa.
