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TERRORISM

Fifa’s Blatter pays tribute to French terror victims

Fifa's Swiss president Sepp Blatter paid tribute to the victims of last week's terror attacks in France, telling Monday's Ballon d'Or awards ceremony in Zurich that "this evening we are all a little bit French".

Published: 12 January 2015 21:47 CET
Fifa's Blatter pays tribute to French terror victims
Photo: AFP/File

The head of world football said: "In our world so disturbed, often hostile and violent, I will say only one thing this evening . . and in French: We do not yet know the true power of peace, nor the true power of football.
   
"This evening we are all a little bit French, which only increases our sympathy for our neighbours who have been so deeply scarred by the violent events of recent days. So allow me to repeat my appeal of peace and tolerance".
   
Blatter was speaking in response to the killing spree by Islamic extremists which left 17 people dead in France last week.
   
The Swiss noted that Monday's ceremony to crown the world player of the year had its roots in France.
   
"If this evening has a touch of France about it, it's because the Ballon d'or first saw the light of day in France," he said.

"Let us not forget that it was created in 1956 by my friends at France Football (magazine)."

CRIME

Hoax bomb threats against French airports ‘traced to Swiss email’

Repeated bomb threats against dozens of French airports which led to evacuations and flight cancellations have been 'traced to an email address in Switzerland', according to French authorities.

Published: 23 October 2023 09:13 CEST
Hoax bomb threats against French airports 'traced to Swiss email'

More than 70 bomb threats have been made against French airports in the past week, leading to evacuations at dozens of airports and at least 130 flights cancelled.

Most of the alerts were triggered by emails warning of a bomb in the airport – more than 70 such emails have been received by airports around the country such as Toulouse, Bordeaux, Paris Beauvais, Marseille and dozens of smaller airports – including Basel-Mulhouse on the Franco-Swiss border. 

On Sunday French Transport Minister Clément Beaune said that “almost all of the threats have been traced to the same email address, situated in Switzerland”.

He added: “Since Wednesday, it is almost always the same email address that is used, located outside the European Union, in Switzerland”.

He called on hosting sites to help the French authorities, saying: “Everyone has a responsibility, including the platforms and social networks, not to support this kind of attack and to cooperate as quickly as possible with the French civil aviation authorities and our justice system.”

In France, the maximum penalty for making a hoax bomb threat is two years in jail and a €30,000 fine.

As well as airport evacuations and flight disruption, French tourist sites have also been hit with bomb hoaxes – the Palace of Versailles has been evacuated seven times in the past week.

It comes in the context of a tense situation in France as the country raised its terror alert to maximum after an apparent Islamist attack on Friday, October 13th in which a teacher was killed and two others wounded.

Security at large events such as the Rugby World Cup matches has been stepped up. 

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