A series of false bomb reports at major French airports this week caused substantial passenger disruption.
On Wednesday, France’s justice minister pledged to take swift action as threats on airports including Lyon, Nantes, Toulouse and Nice among others were received.
Abandoned luggage is frequently the leading cause of bomb disposal experts being called to the scenes, but a combination of email threats in the past week heightened tensions.
France is on high alert after a series of protests following Hamas’ attack on Israel, and there is concern that domestic airports could become a target of extremist movements.
Community leaders have urged restraint as the conflict in the Middle East continues to antagonise Jewish and Muslim populations across Europe.
In the UK and Germany, heightened police patrols and the closure of schools over the past week also demonstrated the impact the conflict is having from a distance.
As Europe maintains vigilance, a flurry of diplomacy is underway to prevent the conflict from escalating.
A number of European countries recently issued warnings to citizens not to travel to Lebanon as the security situation in the Middle East remains fragile.
