Threatening messages, beheading videos sent to at least 30 French schools; investigation underway

This week, France's education ministry reported that over 30 schools in the Paris region received alarming messages alongside "disturbing" footage of beheadings. Primarily targeting secondary schools, these messages contained "grave threats" along with explicit support and encouragement for terrorism, as stated by a spokesperson from the education ministry to AFP.

The messages were delivered through various channels including the ENT digital platform, which acts as a communication hub for teachers, students, and parents, as well as internal emails and the Pronote software utilized by the education ministry.

The ministry reported that investigators are actively working to "identify the perpetrators" behind the threats. Additionally, the ministry stated that psychological support has been made available to individuals, both children and adults, who were exposed to the "shocking videos".

According to a report quoting police source, at least five high schools in the Yvelines department, situated in the western part of the Greater Paris region, received bomb threats between Wednesday and Thursday. The source mentioned that the perpetrators accessed a student's email address to distribute the threatening message along with a beheading video.

In the Seine-et-Marne department, located to the east of Paris, a secondary school received a message indicating that explosives had been concealed throughout the premises "in the name of Allah," as relayed by a police source.

These recent threats come after a series of false bomb alerts targeted schools, airports, and tourist sites in the autumn of 2023.

In October, a radicalized Islamist fatally stabbed a former teacher in the northern town of Arras.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal was scheduled to lead a meeting on school security on Thursday.

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• Arras
• ENT digital platform
• Paris region
• Prime Minister Gabriel Attal
• Pronote software
• Seine-et-Marne department
• Yvelines department
• alarming messages
• beheadings
• bomb threats
• education ministry
• explosives
• false bomb alerts
• former teacher
• grave threats
• internal emails
• investigators
• meeting
• perpetrators
• psychological support
• radicalized Islamist
• school security
• secondary schools
• shocking videos
• terrorism