Europe on alert: The reaction to the London bombings in Spain, Germany and France
Madrid
The bomb attacks in London brought back vivid memories to thousands of Spaniards of the day 16 months ago when al-Qaeda terrorists detonated a series of bombs on commuter trains in Madrid, killing 192 people and injuring more than 1,500. Spanish television channels interrupted their programmes to offer breaking news on the attacks, and many viewers remembered similar scenes of horror as injured were helped from wreckage and field hospitals set up in the streets.
Only hours after returning from Singapore - where he had supported Madrid's unsuccessful bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games - Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero ordered a state of "maximum alert and prevention".
Special patrols were established in crowded areas such as railway and underground stations, airports and department stores, and extra guards patrolled power stations, gas works, water purification and pumping plants and other sensitive installations. The armed forces have joined in this high-level operation, patrolling railway lines and air space.
Mr Zapatero sent a message of "total support" to the British government on behalf of Spain, and offered any assistance Britain might need. "For decades Spain has suffered the blows of terrorism. We sympathise with the suffering of the British people and we join them in their pain," he said.
"The terrorists will never force democracies to give up their principles and values because the moral strength of democracy is stronger than their vile and cowardly methods." -Jane Walker
Berlin
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has condemned as "perfidious" yesterday's bombings in London, as Germany's Deutsche Bahn train company increased its alert level to yellow.
"What we have to do is improve international co-operation. But we will always be surprised by this kind of criminality and the criminal energy behind it," Mr Schröder said on German television. The perpetrators showed their "disregard for human beings" by killing innocent Londoners and by attempting to disrupt the G8 discussion on poverty in Africa and climate change, he said. "In view of the outstanding significance of these issues, I welcome that Prime Minister Blair has decided to continue the summit."
German president Horst Köhler sent a personal letter of condolence to Queen Elizabeth.
Foreign minister Joschka Fischer said the attacks filled Germans with "disgust and abhorrence". "Our unshakeable solidarity is with our friends in Britain. Terrorism will not prevail," he said.
Interior minister Otto Schily warned of a "worldwide danger zone in which Islamistic terrorism has the capacity to act", which included Germany.
Although there are no immediate threats to Germany, Mr Schily increased security measures yesterday, with increased police presence at train stations, airports and border crossings.
Security was increased at the British embassy in Berlin while a spokesman for Deutsche Bahn said it had raised its alert level to "yellow".
Extra personnel were dispatched around Berlin's train stations and U-Bahn underground network. - Derek Scally
Paris
On learning of the bombings in London, French prime minister Dominique de Villepin immediately raised the level of security alert in France from the second to the third of four levels.
The second level of alert, orange, is meant to assess "plausible risks of criminal or terrorist attacks", whereas the third, red, reached yesterday, "increases surveillance patrols and aims to prevent serious attacks", a defence ministry spokesman said.
Searches of passengers to London on the Eurostar were stepped up, and the railway company SNCF advised travellers to avoid going to London for all but the most urgent business.
In emergency meetings, Mr de Villepin asked his ministers of the interior and defence to propose specific measures to increase protection of vulnerable sites. The defence ministry said these might include airports, government buildings, public areas or the transport system, including the Paris metro.
In a brief statement to the press, he said the attacks in London were "a tragedy for all of Europe" and repeated the words "vigilance" and "determination".
In a letter addressed to "Dear Tony", Mr de Villepin wrote: "In these painful circumstances, I would like to express the total solidarity of the French government with the families of the victims and all British people." - Lara Marlowe