Le Figaro Nice and Marseille
Anxious climate around dozens of high schools in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.
During the night from Monday to Tuesday, many students and their parents received written threats of attacks on their digital workspace (ENT), via the Atrium software.
Bombs planted in various buildings and beheadings were mentioned.
130 educational establishments in Hauts-de-France, Île-de-France and Grand Est had already been impacted by this type of hacking in recent days and while Vigipirate was raised to its maximum level at “emergency attack” level, Sunday.
In total, nearly fifty high schools in the south of France were affected, sometimes giving rise to evacuations.
Around thirty establishments in the Nice academy, which includes the departments of Alpes-Maritimes and part of Var, were affected.
This is the case, for example, of the Masséna high school, in the heart of the Riviera capital, or the Renoir high school, in Cagnes-sur-Mer.
In the Aix-Marseille academy (Bouches-du-Rhône and Vaucluse), around fifteen establishments are also impacted.
The Saint-Exupéry and Montgrand high schools in Marseille were temporarily closed, as was the Joliot-Curie high school in Aubagne.
The rector of Nice, Natacha Chicot, explained that a
“preventive protocol”
, already tested, was communicated to all directors as soon as the alerts were received.
Investigations were carried out by the police in all of the threatened school groups.
“The presence of police officers and gendarmes is also reinforced around establishments in a logic of increased vigilance”
, indicated the prefectural services of Alpes-Maritimes, which added
“to monitor the situation closely”
.
Similar reaction from the Bouches-du-Rhône police headquarters, which announces additional patrols and says it takes these threats
“with the greatest seriousness”
into account .
Access to ENTs suspended
Some courses have been postponed while all security checks are completed.
“
No high school will open until the doubts have been resolved
,” assured the Paca region.
If the situation gradually returns to order, the community and the rectorates have decided to suspend access to digital work spaces
“as a precaution”
and
“to avoid any spread of threatening messages”
.
“We will not tolerate any abusive and malicious alerts by demanding exemplary sanctions
,” said Renaud Muselier, the president of the region, in a press release.
The region has also filed a complaint for “abusive bomb threat”, “apology of terrorism” and “death threat”.
Other complaints were filed directly by the heads of establishments but also the rectorates to initiate the first investigations.
The sanctions for these acts
“can be very heavy”
, warned the Minister of National Education, Nicole Belloubet, after the first cases.
After successive bomb threats in October, prison sentences were imposed on the perpetrators.