Several international schools in Spain, including British and French institutions, received email threats of bomb presence on their premises, leading to temporary suspension of classes. Noel Jego, the supervisor of the French Lycée Molière School in Zaragoza (northeast Spain), told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that they received an email warning of a bomb on Sunday evening at 11:00 PM. The school informed the police and the French Embassy in Spain and decided not to open its doors until the authorities took action.
The Lycée Molière, which hosts a thousand students, remained closed on Monday morning, with bomb disposal experts on their way to the site, as revealed by Jego.
The French School Jules Verne in Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands archipelago, also received a similar threat on Saturday night, according to the school’s primary director, Julien Lobanier, who did not provide further details.
Parents of students at the British Saint George School in Madrid were informed that the school opened late on Monday due to receiving an overnight email about a bomb planted on its premises.
The school administration mentioned in its message that “several educational institutions in Madrid received the same message” and that the police considered these as “a series of false reports.”
A similar threat was also targeted at the Kensington British School last week, as stated by its administration. The police and bomb disposal experts visited the site and ruled out any bombing threat.
These incidents highlight a pattern of false bomb threats targeting educational institutions in Madrid and other parts of Spain, causing disruptions and raising concerns among school administrations and parents.
Recent events across Europe have indicated a rise in bomb threats and security alerts, leading to heightened vigilance and precautionary measures in several countries.
In the Netherlands, the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security raised the threat alert to its second-highest level. This decision was influenced by factors such as the ongoing violent conflict between Israel and Hamas, desecrations of the Quran in Europe, and increased threats from jihadism. The heightened threat level was a response to recent attacks in nearby countries and the apprehension of terror suspects both in the Netherlands and neighboring nations. The Dutch authorities emphasized that the threat from both right-wing extremism and anti-institutional extremism remains significant.
France, in particular, has seen a notable spate of bomb threats, especially at airports. Seven airports, including those in Lille, Nantes, Nice, Toulouse, Beauvais, and Lyon’s Bron airport, were evacuated following emailed “threats of attack”. These evacuations have led to ongoing delays in flights arriving and departing. These threats have been regarded as false alarms, but they have caused significant disruption. The French Civil Aviation Authority confirmed the receipt of bomb threats and the consequent evacuations at various airports. This situation in France follows a series of evacuations around the country, including popular tourist destinations like the Louvre Museum and Versailles Palace, in response to a heightened national threat level.
