France has been warned by Saudi Arabia of a genuine threat to Europe from al Qaeda, the country’s interior minister has said.

The threat is separate from reports which saw the Eiffel Tower cleared in September.
Brice Hortefeux told French radio a message had been sent from Saudi intelligence officials that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was “without a doubt active, or aimed to be active”.
Mr Hortefeux said the threat was real and directed at “the European continent and notably France”.
He added: “This is not about overestimating the threat or underestimating it. I am indicating, based on all these elements, that the threat is real.”
AQAP, an off-shoot of al Qaeda believed to include Saudis and Yemenis, has stepped up attacks on Western targets in the past 12 months.
The group, which has been based in Yemen since 2006, said it was behind a failed bombing attempt on a US plane in December.
The new warning is not thought to be connected with the heightened alert in France in late September though.
That was based on a tip-off from Algeria, which claimed a female suicide bomber was planning to attack the country’s transport system.
France has not suffered a major attack since 1995 when the Algerian Armed Islamic Group killed eight people and wounded dozens bombing a Paris metro station.
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