Thread: America warns its citizens about travel to France for Euro 2016

America warns its citizens about travel to France for Euro 2016

Strikes are threatening to cause chaos across France, but the US and President Francois Hollande believe terrorism is a more serious threat
CREDIT: AFP

Harriet Alexander, new york Henry Samuel, paris 31 MAY 2016 • 6:06PM

The United States has warned its citizens about the risk of a terrorist attack during the Euro 2016 tournament, updating its travel advice on the same day that President Francois Hollande said terrorism was the biggest threat to the competition.

Mr Hollande dismissed calls to scrap a controversial labour reform to save the games from chaos, saying the "biggest threat" to the football tournament in France was terrorism, not strikes. Travel by train, air and road has been affected by a series of strikes in the country, which hosts the tournament from June 10 until July 10.

However, Mr Hollande insisted that the main threat "remains terrorism", not strike action.

French intelligence recently warned of Islamists' desire to let off bombs in public places while security services have mounted several major training exercises in case of terror attack in train stations or stadiums.

Tourism industry representatives in the French capital and elsewhere have warned that the industrial action is seeing visitors cancel bookings en masse to the world's most visited city, only just recovering from a downturn in the wake of the November terror attacks.

"The scenes of guerrilla-type action in the middle of Paris, beamed around the world, reinforce the feeling of fear and misunderstanding," the tourist board said.

And on Tuesday the state department advised US citizens to be cautious.

“Euro Cup stadiums, fan zones, and unaffiliated entertainment venues broadcasting the tournaments in France and across Europe represent potential targets for terrorists, as do other large-scale sporting events and public gathering places throughout Europe,” the department said.

“We are alerting US citizens to the risk of potential terrorist attacks throughout Europe.

“The large number of tourists visiting Europe in the summer months will present greater targets for terrorists planning attacks in public locations, especially at large events.”

The state department’s advisory is part of a growing crescendo of warnings.

On Sunday Hans-Georg Massen, head of German intelligence, said that they were picking up “quite a lot of background noise” from terrorists discussing the tournament.

"We know that IS has the European Championship in its sights,” he told Rheinische Post newspaper.

He added that while there was no hard evidence of an attack being planned, there was "quite a lot of background noise, an elevated number of indications" that IS, al-Qaeda or its Syrian affiliate Nusra Front wanted to perpetrate attacks against western targets.

The Foreign Office updated its travel advice on Tuesday, but only to add warnings about the potential strikes. The terrorist warning was already included in its advice.

“There is a high threat from terrorism,” the FCO warned. “Due to ongoing threats to France by Islamist terrorist groups, and recent French military intervention against Daesh (formerly referred to as ISIL), the French government has warned the public to be especially vigilant and has reinforced its security measures.”

November 13, 2015

Paris attacks
A series of explosions rock Paris in the worst terrorist assault on Europe in a decade. A number of restaurants, the Bataclan concert hall and the Stade de France are targeted. 130 people are killed in the attacks and hundreds more injured.

November 18, 2015

Suspect dead
Belgian extremist Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, suspected of masterminding the deadly attacks in Paris, dies along with his female cousin in a police raid in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. A third body is later found and eight people are detained.

November 20, 2015

Suspect charged
Belgian authorities file terror charges against a third Paris attacks suspect with two more already behind bars facing similar charges.

November 21, 2015

Brussels on lockdown
Brussels is placed in lockdown, remaining at maximum alert over information about an “imminent threat”, possibly a series of co-ordinated attacks at different locations

November 22, 2015

Multiple arrests after Brussels arrests
Some 19 raids are carried out in Molenbeek, home to many of the Paris attackers, and other boroughs of Brussels, and there are three raids in Charleroi. A total of 16 people are arrested.

November 23, 2015

Explosive vest found in Paris
An explosive vest containing bolts and the same type of explosive used in the Paris attacks is found by a street cleaner in a pile of rubble in Chatillon-Montrouge, just south of Paris. A fourth suspect - one of the 16 arrested the previous day - is charged with terrorism offences; the other 15 are released.

November 25, 2015

France approves ongoing airstrikes in Syria
French parliamentarians overwhelmingly vote to continue air strikes against Islamic State (Isil) in Syria beyond early January. Schools and some subways reopen for the first time since emergency measures were imposed in the Belgian capital.

November 26, 2015

Brussels terror threat lowered
Belgian authorities raid three more places outside of Brussels which they say are linked to the Paris attacks, but make no arrests. The Belgian terror threat is lowered to the second-highest level in the capital Brussels, with officials calling a threat “possible and likely”.

December 3, 2015

Two more arrests
Two more suspects are arrested. A French national, identified only as Samir Z, is detained at Brussels national airport as he bids to fly to Morocco. A second man, identified as Pierre N, is arrested during a raid only hours after the detention at the airport.

December 20, 2015

Paris suspect's fingerprint found in Brussels 'bomb factory'
Prosecutors find Paris suspect Salah Abdeslam's fingerprint during a search of an apartment in Schaerbeek, Brussels. They believe it served as a bomb factory for the Paris attacks.
Three handmade belts which could have been intended to transport explosives, as well as bomb-making equipment, traces of TATP explosive residue and a fingerprint from Abdeslam were found there, the Federal Prosecutor's Office says.

December 20, 2015

Molenbeek arrests
Belgian authorities search a house in Molenbeek, and detain an unidentified person for questioning.

December 24, 2015

Suspect arrected
Belgian authorities arrest a ninth suspect linked to the Paris attacks, a Belgian citizen born in 1985 they say had been in contact with the suspected ringleader's cousin.

December 31, 2015

10th Paris suspect arrested
A 10th suspect is arrested in the Paris terror attacks probe and numerous mobile phones seized, the Belgian prosecutor says.

January 13 2016

Suspects' homes identified
Belgian investigators identify three homes used by suspects to prepare for the Paris attacks.

March 15, 2016

Raid uncovers ammunition and Isil flags
An Algerian man living illegally in Belgium, Mohamed Belkaid, is killed by police during a raid on an apartment building in the quiet Brussels suburb of Forest, where authorities also find a stock of ammunition and an Islamic State flag.

March 18, 2016

Salah Abdeslam arrested
Salah Abdeslam is wounded in the leg and captured by Belgian police in a raid in the Molenbeek district of Brussels after four months on the run. Two other men are also arrested.

March 22, 2016

Brussels attacks
Just days after Abdeslam is captured, Brussels is hit by attacks on Zaventem airport and the city's metro system, near a station close to European Union buildings.

America warns its citizens about travel to France for Euro 2016

An Islamic State sleeper cell reportedly has plans to carry out attacks targeting English and Russian football fans at Euro 2016 during a match in Marseilles, data retrieved from the main Paris attacks suspect's laptop reveal.