French Interior Ministry Launches Terror Alert App Ahead of Euro 2016

The French Interior Ministry launched a smartphone app designed to alert users of possible emergencies including terror attacks, it said on its official twitter account on Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The application, available for free in French and English, has been presented amid growing concerns over potential terror attacks during the upcoming 2016 UEFA European football championship. Along with terrorist threats it will provide information on emergencies like breaching of flood defenses. Alerts are promised to appear within less than 15 minutes after an incident has been confirmed by the authorities.

On Tuesday, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office warned football fans traveling to France for the Euro-2016 that the tournament's stadiums and other venues were "potential targets" of terrorist attracts.

A week ago, the US State Department warned US citizens of possible terror attacks in Europe this summer, stressing that major events, tourist sites, restaurants, commercial centers and transportation could be among the targets.

The French Interior Ministry responsible for overall Euro-2016 security pledged to dispatch over 87,000 security staff in order to ensure the safety of sportsmen and fans, including 42,000 policemen, 30,000 gendarmes, 10,000 military personnel and more than 5,000 civil security agents.

Euro-2016 will take place in various French cities from June 10 to July 10.

France is in a state of emergency after 130 people were killed in November in a series of terror attacks in Paris.