Tourists are evacuated from famous outcrop over security concerns
French authorities evacuated tourists from the Mont-saintmichel abbey and searched houses yesterday on the famous outcrop in the English Channel for a visitor who had apparently threatened to attack security services.
The exceptional evacuation of one of France’s most-visited tourist sites came after a string of sporadic attacks around France in recent years targeting members of the police, some of them fatal.
The site reopened yesterday afternoon and a trickle of tourists started returning to the Mont across a promontory that connects it to the mainland.
Several hours of searching failed to turn up the suspect, and police expanded their search to neighbouring towns, according to the national gendarme service.
Details of yesterday’s threat were unclear, but the gendarme service said authorities ordered the evacuation as a precaution.
During the police operation, at least three police helicopters were seen circling over the peninsula, notably famous for being isolated by high tides. The hilltop abbey, whose origins date to the 10th century, and surrounding sites attract morethantwomillionvisitors every year.
Police officers patrolled the steep cobblestone paths leading up to the abbey, packed with restaurants and souvenir shops – and normally packed with tourists and pilgrims 365 days a year.
Thousands of people were affected by the evacuation, but the mood was calm. Some tourists were taken out of their hotels, while others were blocked upon arrival.
Some angry South Korean tourists shouted at an organiser trying to explain the situation. Their group of 32 was turned back to Paris after being blocked from reaching Mont-saint-michel.
Tour guide Andrew Rui remained calm, however, noting that the evacuation was prompted by security reasons.
The regional prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into the threat, amid contradictory information about what happened. An official with the national gendarme service said the man made the threat Sunday on one of the shuttles serving the site.
The head of the regional administration, Jean-marc Sabathe, told broadcaster Francetvinfo that the man made the threat when he was trying to stage a street performance and got in an argument with a cafe worker. He said the man was caught on video surveillance cameras.
“I am ordering house-byhouse searches to verify if the individual is still on Montsaint-michel. It’s possible that the individual left the Mont with the flux of tourists,” Mr Sabathe said.
Monks and nuns were told to stay inside the abbey during the evacuation, according to the gendarme service.