Italy Tells Schools Not to Evacuate on Mass Bomb Emails Alone as Threats Enter Second Day and Reach France

The update

More than 1,800 Italian schools received emailed bomb warnings on Thursday, a second straight day of threats signed “Mikhail Andropov” that also included a threat against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Some schools evacuated, but hundreds stayed open or quickly reopened under new government guidance. The messages followed Wednesday’s wave, when about 6,300 Italian schools received the same threat and hundreds evacuated. Euronews reported that schools in Marseille, Morez and Laon in France were also evacuated on Thursday.

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Why it matters

After meeting opposition leaders, Meloni’s government said buildings should not be evacuated without concrete evidence of danger beyond a mass email, and a security committee was to agree a common protocol. The campaign has now disrupted schools in several European countries, and no explosives have been reported. President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in Dublin, said it was too soon to say whether foreign powers were behind the wave. Italian officials said there is no evidence of Russian involvement, which Moscow denies.

What to watch

Watch whether the protocol is adopted nationally and keeps classrooms open if threats continue, whether the French evacuations spread or remain isolated, and whether investigators attribute the emails or find any device. Italy’s foreign, defence and interior ministers are also expected to brief parliament.

Sources

• euronews.com — confirms the second day of threats in Italy, the proposed protocol, evacuations in France and Macron’s comments
• kz1023.com — Reuters report confirming 1,803 schools threatened on Thursday, 6,300 on Wednesday, the new guidance and the opposition summit

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