The Louvre Museum in Paris has been evacuated after a bomb threat, Independent reports.
Thousands of visitors were seen fleeing the art gallery and the hugely popular attraction was closed early Saturday because of a written warning.
Parents were seen dragging their children towards the exits as alarms rang out through the vast museum in central Paris overlooking the Seine River.
The evacuation was announced at 11am with tourists seen flooding out of the underground shopping centre beneath its iconic art gallery’s glass pyramid.
A spokesperson for the museum the response was linked to the government’s decision to put France on high alert after a fatal school stabbing by a suspected extremist.
“The Louvre received a written message stating that there was a risk to the museum and its visitors”, a spokeswoman told AFP after announcing the closure on social media. “We have decided... to evacuate and close it for the day, while we carry out the necessary checks”.
The Louvre communication service added that no-one had been hurt.
