The government of France declared on Sunday that it would raise its national security alert system, known as Vigipirate, to its most severe level. This decision comes in response to a devastating terrorist attack at a concert hall in Moscow which claimed over 130 lives. The group ISIS has admitted responsibility for the attack.
The announcement was made by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on X (formerly Twitter) following consultations with President Emmanuel Macron and other top security and defense officials. Attal cited the recent attack and looming threats to France as compelling reasons for escalating the Vigipirate status to its highest level: attack emergency.
Introduced in 1978 and under the direction of the prime minister, the Vigipirate system has three tiers: vigilance, heightened security/risk of attack, and attack emergency. The top-most tier, attack emergency, is activated either immediately after an attack or when an identified but unlocated terrorist group carries out an operation.
The escalation to attack emergency status allows for an allocation of resources and rapid information dissemination to protect citizens during time-limited crisis situations.
This upscaling of the national security alert level is part of the safety measures being enacted ahead of the Olympic Games set to take place in Paris this summer. As the games approach, French authorities are finalizing security strategies to guarantee the safety of the athletes and spectators not just in Paris, but in other participating cities nationwide.
The last occasion when France upped its national security alert level to its pinnacle was on October 13, 2023 following the stabbing death of a teacher in what was believed to an Islamist-driven attack.