France closes embassy in Yemen on security concern

France has closed its embassy in Yemen to the public until further notice due to concerns over possible militant attacks, the foreign ministry said Monday.                                           

"On January 3, our ambassador decided not to authorise any public access to the diplomatic mission until further notice," France's foreign ministry said in a statement.                                           

It said the level of security had already been high at the embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, and that the ambassador had asked French citizens in Yemen to be particularly careful and avoid travel given the current situation.                                           

The United States and Britain had previously announced that they had closed their embassies in Sanaa because of security concerns.