Louvre Reopens Following Machete Attack

The Louvre Museum in Paris reopened Saturday following Friday’s attack by a man wielding a machete, according to the Museum’s official Twitter account. 

Euronews reports that the reopening saw large crowds and a heavy security presence. 

“I don’t feel frightened at all,” Spanish fine art student Marta Montilla told Euronews. “I feel good. It is a bit unusual to see so many heavily-armed police, but I am not bothered. In Barcelona, we also have police armed like this, to keep watch over tourist sites as well.”

According to CBS News, the suspect in the attack has since been identified as 28-year-old Egyptian-born Abdullah Reda Refaie al-Hamahmy. The investigation remains underway, with French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve calling the attack "terrorist in nature." Hundreds of tourists were confined to secure areas of the museum at the time of the attack. 

Local Parisians interviewed by USA Today said that the incident brought back memories of the November 2015 terrorist attacks that killed 130 people across the city. 

"When the story broke at first, I said crap, it's happening again, but then I saw it was quickly under control," Jean Leroux, 29, an artist in Paris, told USA Today. "In the end I saw it was a minor isolated act, and I thought it's not like at the Bataclan.” 

The November 2015 attacks led to a 12.8 decline in visitation to Paris over the 2016 winter holidays, according to a November 2016 study by Allianz Global Assistance. While the city saw a moderate increase in booking interest over summer 2016, the city fell from 80,214 travelers in the 2015 winter holiday season to 69,975 in 2016. Instead, travelers opted to visited more off-the-beaten-path cities in Europe like Amsterdam, Netherlands, (up 30.8 percent); Lisbon, Portugal (up 29.0 percent); Venice, Italy (up 19.6 percent); Vienna, Austria (up 17.5 percent); Munich, Germany (up 16.5 percent); and Budapest, Hungary (up 16.1 percent), according to the study. 

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