At least one thief sneaked into a French military munitions compound and made off with a stash of detonators, grenades and explosives, officials said Tuesday, stoking security concerns in a country reeling from recent attacks by extremists.
French authorities were investigating the mystery theft of 180 detonators, 40 grenades and 10 blocks of 250 grams of plastic explosives from the multi-service Miramas military site near Marseille in southeast France, officials said. One said the culprit or culprits appeared to have cut through security fencing to get inside.
The break-in, believed to have taken place overnight Sunday to Monday, has sent a shudder through a country that recently has raised its terrorism alert status to the highest level after deadly attacks by extremists in January and last month.
The defense minister ordered an immediate review of security at France’s military weapons stockpiles.
