France prepares for terror attack hitting London amid Donald Trump Iran war tensions
France prepares for terror attack hitting London amid Donald Trump Iran war tensions
France is preparing for a terror strike targeting London.
French diplomats in the capital have carried out a “crisis management” exercise on responding to a major incident in the city.
They have sought to strengthen their emergency response plans as tensions run high over Donald Trump’s Iran war.
The Met Police recently told how MI5 and counter-terror police have disrupted more than 20 Iranian state-backed terror plots in the past year, including alleged assassination attempts targeting individuals in London.
The Standard understands that the French crisis response blueprint aims to cover all scenarios, including a terror attack affecting French citizens in London.
If this happened, diplomats at France’s Embassy in Knightsbridge would be guided by the French government’s Centre de Crise et Soutien (CDCS – Crisis and Support Centre) based in Paris.
Under plans to deal with a very challenging incident, or if it affected a large number of French citizens, CDCS agents could be flown over to help with the response.
French consular staff, who would offer support to victims and their families, also took part in the “crisis room” at the embassy in west London.
They could issue passports to French citizens and arrange repatriation flights.
French diplomats would liaise with the British authorities.
They already work closely with the UK Government, with France and Britain seconding police and military officers to each other’s ministries.
There are 300.000 French citizens in the UK, with just over half of them in London.
If they are in Britain for more than six months, they are urged to register with the French authorities, partly to facilitate a response in a time of emergency.
The American Embassy in London is urging US citizens to sign up to the State Department’s alert system amid the growing global dangers.
