French newspaper evacuates office amid bomb scare

France Soir, the first French newspaper to publish contested cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed last week, evacuated its offices this afternoon after receiving a threatening call, staff and police said.

Police said the caller threatened to blow himself up at the daily’s offices in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers. Police sent a team with sniffer dogs.

About 60 employees evacuated the building but were able to go back in two hours later.

Anti-terrorism police are investigating.

The cartoons first appeared in a Danish newspaper and have been reprinted by France Soir and other European media in the name of free speech.

The caricatures include a drawing of Mohammed wearing a turban shaped as a bomb.

Muslims have been outraged because Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet to prevent idolatry.