France is beefing up security for the Rugby World Cup semi-finals

France’s Interior Minister has asked prefects to increase the security device around the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

This Friday the 20th at the Stade de France starting at 4 pm (Argentine time), The Pumas deal with All Blacks for the semi-finals and they will be looking to enter the grand final of Rugby World Cup 2023 scheduled for October 28. In this frame, The French government has raised the level of surveillance on “urgency due to attack” on surveillance sites and linked celebrations” at the World Cup event.

Minister Gérald Darmanin explained in a telegram that “the increase in the threat to the national territory, which occurred through the transition to the ’emergency attack’ level of surveillance (…), requires special monitoring of surveillance areas and associated celebrations” in the World Cup. Because Professor Dominique Bernard was stabbed and three other people were seriously injured on Friday last week in the city of Arras of Mohammed Mogouchkov20 years old, former student of the institution and followers of the Islamic State groupin a crime that coincides with the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

The attack took place in a tense context in France, home to the third largest Jewish community in the world after Israel and the United States. Also due to security, seven airports were evacuated this wednesday for a few hours for “threats of attack” received by email, but not Parisians Charles de Gaulle and Orly. Also the Palace of Versailles, one of the country’s main tourist attractions, It is again in the process of being evacuated due to a bomb warning, as was the case the day before and on Saturday.

This increase in the security device is intended, according to Darmanin, to “the prevention of acts of terrorism, but also the continuation of the activity and maintaining the popularity of the event despite the international and national context”. In the same line, the official asserted: ““Although the next matches will be held exclusively at the Stade de France, a maximum security device will be in place for all relevant events.”