The American embassy in Paris has issued a security alert for U.S. Citizens in France following last week’s terrorist attack in Moscow.
This means that visitors in France can expect to see heightened security in public areas, including public transport, places of worship, tourist sites, schools, sports venues, and other large commercial centers.
The U.S. Embassy has warned that terrorists may target tourist locations "with little or no warning."
"Visitors to congested and popular tourist areas should be particularly attentive to their surroundings," the embassy said, urging the public to report suspicious activity to law enforcement.
The warning comes after the French government elevated its Vigipirate national security alert system to its highest level, following a terrorist attack in Moscow on Friday evening. Russian authorities said "radical Islamists" killed 139 people at a suburban concert hall in Moscow.
Later Monday, Italy followed France in stepping up security. The country’s national security council met Monday, and decided to increase security around Holy Week observances leading up to Easter this weekend.
Both surveillance and checks will be increased, "paying the most attention to the places of greatest aggregation and transit of people, as well as sensitive targets,’’ the Italian Interior Ministry said in a statement. Pope Francis has a busy schedule of events in Rome and at the Vatican in the days leading up to Easter Sunday.
