France closes Istanbul consulate, French school suspends education

French consulate located in the heart of Istanbul’s densely populated Beyoglu district has been closed due to security reasons, following the Koran-burning incidents in several European capitals.

A sign reading “It is temporarily closed, thank you for your understanding” was hung on the consulate’s door on Wednesday, Arti Gercek reported.

French high school Pierre Loti has also suspended education for two days in its Beyoglu campus.

The school administration said the campus will be closed between Feb.2 and Feb.3 due to threats of attacks, via a message sent to the parents, Arti Gercek said in a separate report.

This week, Germany, the United Kingdom and Netherlands have taken security measures against threats related to Koran-burning protests and closed their diplomatic missions in Istanbul. Since Friday, countries including the United States, Germany, France, Italy and Canada warned their nationals in Turkey against possible retaliatory attacks by terrorists. The US Embassy on Monday said attacks could take place especially in Istanbul’s Beyoglu, Galata, Taksim and Istiklal neighbourhoods, areas that are frequented by Westerners.

Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the Danish far-right political party Stram Kurs (Hard Line) has burned copies of Koran in front of the Turkish Embassy and a mosque in Copenhagen, Denmark on Friday, replicating the same act he committed in Sweden’s capital Stockholm on the previous weekend.