Toulouse: threat or hoax, the mysterious white powder sows panic in a bank
The day after the discovery of an envelope containing a mysterious white powder, deposited in the mail of the headquarters of Crédit Agricole in Toulouse, psychologists were dispatched to the scene.
The panic scene was still in the minds of several Crédit Agricole bankers on Tuesday.I. This establishment located Place Jeanne-d’Arc, in Toulouse, was urgently evacuated on Monday, following the discovery of a letter containing a mysterious white powder. After verification, it would be a simple hoax but the experience could be traumatic for some employees. “As the protocol requires, this Tuesday psychologists went to the site to meet the staff affected”, announces Frédéric Guyonnet, the national president of the national banking union.
“No risk taken”
The day before, around 3 p.m., the mail clerk discovered an envelope which contained “agonizing” inscriptions. And when he opened it, he noticed a contaminated or explosive material. As a precaution, this man immediately informed his hierarchy and then the emergency services. “The management spoke of a suspicious package. No risk was taken since the employees were ordered to go home”, testifies a banker.
Alerted in turn, the deminers finally asked several hundred people to evacuate the area while all doubts were cleared up. These specialists first opened the envelope to ensure that it did not contain any explosive material. “Some bombs are made this way. Simply throwing the powder on the ground can replace a detonator,” said a police officer.
Read also :
INFO LA DEPECHE. Toulouse: the bank receives an envelope filled with white powder, the deminers call for reinforcement
Once this step was successfully completed, the firefighters took over in order to definitively rule out the track linked to anthrax, a substance widely used by terrorists at the beginning of the 21st century. Shortly before 6 p.m., law enforcement concluded it was a hoax. The powder used could be flour or talc but analyzes are in progress. Pending the results, the Toulouse prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation to find the sender(s).
“10,000 incidents of incivility declared in 2021”
“In the 2000s, we regularly received this type of missive. At the time, everyone feared anthrax, this deadly poison,” recalls Frédéric Guyonnet, national president of the national banking union. But this practice is much rarer today. “We face two numerous physical and verbal threats, but poisoned mail is no longer very frequent”, confirms the forties. This man recalls that in 2021, 10,000 incidents of incivility were declared in all banking sectors.
“These events are not trivial, so we have created protocols adapted to these situations to psychologically support the victims”, continues the president of the national banking union.