FRANCE’S FORMER prime minister Dominique de Villepin has criticised the government for “sowing panic” by alerting the public to a raised threat of terrorist attack.
Mr de Villepin, an erstwhile ally of President Nicolas Sarkozy who set up his own centre-right party earlier this year, accused the government of acting in a “clumsy and at times even cynical” way by warning this week of possible attacks. This “does nothing but sow panic”, he added.
Police said on Monday that France was on heightened alert for possible terrorist attacks after receiving a tip-off that a female suicide bomber was planning to attack the transport system. “The terrorism threat is real, and as of today we have enhanced our vigilance,” interior minister Brice Hortefeux told reporters.
Citing unidentified sources, RTL radio reported that the authorities had been informed of the possible bomber last Wednesday. The following day, seven foreigners, including five French nationals, were kidnapped in the desert in northern Niger.
The self-styled Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim) last night claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, according to a report on al-Jazeera television.
Taking issue with the government for alerting the public to an increased security threat, Mr de Villepin said: “What is important is to take measures, to act. I don’t think it does any good to sow panic throughout our country.”
The Socialist Party has called for greater transparency on the terrorist threat, and said parliament should be kept informed. “We’re told the threat is there, but who, what, how – we don’t know anything about it. We’re in the dark about something that affects the security of French people,” said socialist deputy Jean-Christophe Cambadélis.
France has not suffered a major attack since 1995, when the Algerian Armed Islamic Group killed eight people and wounded dozens in a Paris metro station bombing.
Although the authorities have warned of the risk of attack since the failed attempt in Mali to rescue a Frenchman being held hostage by Aqim in July, the overall alert level remains unchanged at “red”, the second-highest level. “I hope there is not an ounce of manipulation in this,” said François Bayrou, leader of the centrist MoDem party.
Military patrols have visibly increased in Paris in the past week, while the Eiffel tower and the Saint-Michel RER train station were evacuated last Monday because of hoax bomb threats.
As efforts continue to find the seven hostages taken in Niger, dozens of French soldiers and a number of military aircraft have been sent to the region.
The five French nationals, a Togolese and a Madagascan, all of whom work for French companies, were taken from Arlit in the northern uranium mining region and are believed to have been moved by their kidnappers to the northern Mali desert.
Mr Hortefeux flew to the Malian capital Bamako for discussions yesterday, while defence minister Hervé Morin said every effort was being made to locate the hostages. French troops in the region are reportedly using reconnaissance aircraft with sophisticated monitoring equipment to search the Sahara desert.
The Islamists’ admission of responsibility makes this the group’s second major confrontation with France in recent months.
A joint Franco-Mauritanian raid to free French aid worker Michel Germaneau in July had resulted in the deaths of several Islamists.
Aqim said two days later that it had killed the 78-year-old.