France Enhances Security at Airports and Trains After False Bomb Reports

French Transport Minister Clément Beaune confirmed today, Sunday, that "his country will strengthen its security measures at airports around Paris as well as on trains following a wave of false bomb reports." He added in an interview with the public radio station "France Inter" that "it has been decided to increase security patrols at Paris airports by 40 percent and to bolster the staff of the French National Railway Company (SNCF) by about 20 percent, in addition to deploying additional police patrols at railway stations." France has been on high alert since October 13, following the stabbing of a 20-year-old man who attacked a teacher in the northern city of Arras. Beaune stated, "Historically, transportation networks in our country and in Europe have been among the targets that have suffered heavily from attacks." He also remarked that alongside the increasing risks, there are "those who trade in fear," referring to a wave of false bomb reports in transportation, schools, and cultural centers over the past week. He explained that "since Wednesday, France has received 70 false bomb reports at airports," adding that "almost all of those reports were sent from a single email address located in Switzerland."