With nine months to go before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the French authorities are seeking to reassure the public in the face of the increased risk of terrorism, given the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its flood of tragic images have dominated the headlines since the surprise attack by Hamas on October 7. The ramifications are global. France is no exception and raised its terrorist alert to the highest level following the attack in Arras on Friday, October 13, which claimed the life of a teacher. Since then, the threats have multiplied, at the Louvre, the Château de Versailles and French airports. On Wednesday, October 18, at least 10 airports (Lille, Lyon-Bron, Nice, Toulouse, Beauvais, Nantes, Pau, Biarritz, Strasbourg…) had to be evacuated.
In just over nine months, the country will be hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It’s impossible to imagine that this global event will be immune to the risk of terrorism. How does the situation in the Middle East factor into discussions between government departments on security for the Paris Games? How can we ensure the smooth running of the opening ceremony on the Seine? These questions are likely to feature prominently on the agenda of the inter-ministerial committee meeting on Games security scheduled for Friday, October 20 at the prime minister’s office.
For the moment, the Games Organizing Committee (Cojop) and public authorities are seeking to reassure people. Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet stated that there is no plan B for the river parade, scheduled for July 26, 2024. “From the outset, the authorities and Paris 2024 have ensured that security is the number one priority for the success of the Games. We’re not going to change our plans based on what’s happening right now, because we’ve been on top of our game in terms of security from the outset,” Estanguet assured L’Equipe on Monday.
On the government side, they point out that the security arrangements for the Games – “a priority concern of the organizers and the French government” – are constantly being adapted to the geopolitical context and the scale of the threats. “Plan A takes all threats into account,” said a source at the Elysée Palace, recalling that France experienced the 2015 wave of attacks at the height of its bid to host the Olympic Games.
Source: Le Monde