France cancels July 14 celebrations in Turkey over security threat

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France on Wednesday said it had cancelled its planned traditional July 14 events at diplomatic missions in Turkey for security reasons after receiving intelligence of a "serious" threat.

France's consulate in Istanbul, its embassy in Ankara and its mission in the Aegean city of Izmir were all to have held celebrations marking the July 14 Bastille Day.

French consul to Istanbul Muriel Domenach wrote on Twitter the events in all three cities had been cancelled "for security reasons" and France was in touch with the Turkish authorities.

Earlier, the Istanbul consulate had sent an email message to French citizens in Turkey saying that there had been "concurring information of a serious threat against the organisation of the July 14 celebrations in Turkey."

It said the decision had been taken in coordination with the Turkish authorities.

Turkey is on a high security alert following the June 28 attack on Istanbul's main airport which was blamed on Islamic State (IS) jihadists and killed 47 people.

This followed a spate of attacks across the country this year blamed on IS jihadists and Kurdish militants.