France Investigates Potential "Foreign Powers" Link to Wave of Bomb Hoaxes Targeting Flights

The Paris public prosecutor's office announced on Saturday, November 7, the opening of a formal investigation into false bomb threats targeting aircraft flying over French territory, with a particular focus on uncovering any potential links between the perpetrators and "foreign powers."

The prosecution stated that inquiries are focused on tracking the senders of the emails that spread this misleading information to create a false impression of severe destruction, as well as verifying whether external entities were behind these actions.

Consecutive Alerts and Security Inspections at French Airports

French airspace experienced significant disruption. On Thursday, an Aer Lingus flight was diverted to land in Évreux following a bomb threat. On Friday, the French Prime Minister's office (Matignon) reported four new alerts targeting aircraft over French airspace, prompting bomb disposal teams to intervene and conduct thorough security screenings. Three of these planes landed at Paris Orly Airport, while the fourth landed in Bordeaux; all touched down safely without any damage recorded.

The offices of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, responsible for security and air defense in France, indicated that "investigations are ongoing to determine the origin of these alerts affecting the whole of Europe."

Suspicions of a "Coordinated Campaign" in Europe

These incidents come amid a broader wave, with dozens of commercial flights across Europe targeted by similar alerts since the start of the week. This forced some aircraft to divert, be escorted by fighter jets, or undergo evacuation and search procedures, though no explosives were found in any instance. Irish media, British outlets such as Sky News, and French networks including TF1 also received similar threat notices.

The Irish government denounced what it described as a "potentially coordinated campaign aimed at causing chaos and disruption." According to experts, this series of threats is primarily designed to exhaust security services and sow panic at minimal cost.

Airports in Rome and Sofia had received messages claiming responsibility attributed to the so-called "Fighters of the Male State," a name associated with an ultra-nationalist Russian movement, though its leader denied any connection to the threats. This coincides with ongoing warnings from European officials and intelligence agencies regarding an escalation in destabilization operations and hybrid warfare—often attributed to Russia or Iran—aimed at exerting pressure on European support for Ukraine.