The world-famous Château de Versailles on the outskirts of Paris was evacuated on Tuesday and remained closed for more than two hours following a bomb threat, the public institution said.
Evacuated at around 13:00, the palace was able to reopen its doors later in the afternoon, the château said on X (formerly Twitter) at around 15:30. "No explosives were found", stated a source close to the case.
Located 16 kilometres south-west of Paris, the historic site announced it was "closing its doors today" for security reasons. The château had already been evacuated on Saturday afternoon due to a bomb threat at a time when France is in a state of high alert to terrorist attacks.
That day, the Louvre, the world's largest museum in the heart of Paris, remained closed from midday "for security reasons".
🇫🇷 Chers visiteurs, Pour des raisons de sécurité, le château de Versailles évacue les visiteurs et ferme ses portes ce jour, mardi 17 octobre. Nous vous remercions de votre compréhension. pic.twitter.com/4R9NlVhIos
— Château de Versailles (@CVersailles) October 17, 2023
At the end of the high tourist season, between 10,000 and 15,000 visitors per day visit the vast site where the castle of King Louis XIV is located.
Following a knife attack that claimed the life of a teacher in Arras on Friday, France was placed under an "emergency attack", the highest level of vigilance.
