France on terror alert during Christmas

FRANCE: Shoppers were being searched Wednesday before being allowed into one of Paris's top department stores as France moved into its hectic Christmas shopping period on terror alert.

The searches at the Printemps store were aimed at protecting customers after an unknown group on Tuesday placed five sticks of dynamite, without a detonator, in a toilet in the men's clothing section, a store spokesman said.

The group calling itself the Afghan Revolutionary Front said it had planted the explosives in the store on Boulevard Haussmann and threatened more attacks unless Paris pulls its 2,600 troops out of Afghanistan by the end of February.

The dynamite was made safe by police after they had evacuated the shop and closed off surrounding streets.

Experts cast doubt on the notion that the warning, which came in a letter sent to AFP, could have come from an Islamic group such as the Taliban or Al-Qaeda, which have previously threatened France.

But the government took the threat seriously, with President Nicolas Sarkozy calling for "vigilance because unfortunately anything can happen".

PARIS, Friday, AFP