Since Hamas's attack on Israel, on October 7, and the murder of Dominique Bernard, a French teacher killed on October 13 by a jihadist in a high school, France has seen fake bomb threats prompting evacuations in airports, high schools and museums on a nearly daily basis following. According to figures released on Monday, October 23, by the Justice Ministry, 64 investigations have been opened since the murder of Bernard.

These malicious calls or emails have contributed to a nervous atmosphere and have overloaded investigation departments. But the phenomenon is far from new and has been keeping courts busy for some time: "For at least a year, there have been a large number of false bomb threats in airports, schools and cultural venues," said the Paris prosecutor's office.

But given the geopolitical and security context, authorities and the managers of the targeted establishments are taking no chances, and are evacuating far more often than usual, which has had the unwanted effect of publicizing the phenomenon and creating a snowball effect. "As soon as a false alarm is publicized, it triggers a series," said a judicial source.

The administrations most affected, such as the transport and education authorities, are having difficulties consolidating the data. Despite repeated requests, it has been impossible to obtain accurate figures for the number of false alarms registered in the last few days from the Interior Ministry's Information and Communication Department, which is responsible for collecting them.

While it's possible that some of those responsible for the recent false alarms saw the current context as an opportunity or were inspired by recent highly-publicized scares, there are hundreds of malicious calls and other threats every year. According to figures from the Justice Ministry, 670 people were convicted of this type of offence in 2022, and 759 in 2021.

In most of the cases in recent years, as in the most recent ones, the perpetrators are generally young, often under 18: On October 16, the Créteil (southeast of Paris) prosecutor announced that seven minors, aged between 13 and 16, had been arrested following some 15 bomb threats in the department's schools.

Depending on the type of alert, defendants can be tried for a variety of offenses: One is divulging false information – when the suspect does not present themself as the direct author of the threat but claims to be a warning of a threat from a third part. This offense is punishable by two years' imprisonment and a fine of €30,000. Another is threatening destruction, when the author of the malicious call or email presents themself as the source of the danger. In this case, the offender can punished by up to three years' imprisonment, and may also be ordered to pay substantial damages.

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