The alert level is lowered.
On January 15, France moved from level 3 of the Vigipirate plan (“emergency attack”), the highest, to the level below, according to information from Le Figaro published this Thursday.
“The new Vigipirate posture “Winter-Spring 2024” has been active since January 15, 2024 and reassesses the entire national territory at the “reinforced security – attack risk” level.
This level makes it possible to adapt the State's response to a high, or even very high, terrorist threat,” indicates the General Secretariat of Defense and National Security on its dedicated website.
Level 3 of the Vigipirate plan, triggered during a period of crisis, was activated after the knife attack in a high school in Arras, on October 13, 2023, which caused the death of a teacher and left three injured.
This level, the highest in the plan, “enables the exceptional mobilization of resources and the dissemination of information likely to protect citizens,” the Interior Ministry then indicated.
Thousands of soldiers on the ground
In mid-October, around 7,000 soldiers from the Sentinel force were deployed to the territory.
They were notably mobilized to “monitor shopping centers, to protect all French people,” explained Gérald Darmanin.
This strengthening of security came “in a period of strong exposure” with the Rugby World Cup and events in the Middle East “which add to an already seriously degraded international geopolitical situation”.
This mobilization also allowed reinforcements around the security of educational establishments, as well as places of worship.
Level 2 of the plan, now in progress, also imposes reinforced measures on security, in particular that of "buildings used for education and places of worship, festive, cultural and religious gatherings, transport and public buildings and institutional”, develops the General Secretariat of Defense and National Security.