France to boost Olympics security with foreign military, police support

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00:00 Up to 45,000 French policemen and 18,000 military troops.

00:06 That is how many will be deployed each day in France during the Olympic Games this summer.

00:11 But relying just on the country's own security forces is not enough.

00:15 The French government has asked 46 allies to send over 2,100 policemen to help secure

00:22 the Games.

00:23 Prompted by the Polish Defence Minister's announcement on Twitter that it will be sending

00:27 troops.

00:28 The Polish Armed Forces will join the international coalition established by France to support

00:33 the preparations and security of the 2024 Summer Olympics.

00:38 A task force of our soldiers, including dog handlers, will be sent to Paris.

00:43 The announcement comes as France's Chief of Defence Staff Thierry Bourcar was visiting

00:48 Poland on Thursday, but the details of the arrangement are yet to be announced.

00:52 France has previously received foreign help to secure large-scale events like the 2023

00:57 Rugby World Cup, but experts say the presence of foreign forces back then had an entirely

01:03 different purpose.

01:04 "The role of foreign police forces when they send their staff to a major competition like

01:09 this is, for example, to identify dangerous individuals or hooligans who might come from

01:15 their own country, or to have some kind of contact with the visiting country's supporters."

01:21 In the lead-up to the Games, France is training its national police force to respond to the

01:25 worst-case scenario - a terror attack involving hostages.

01:29 Drills are carried out inside institutions like schools and airports.

01:33 France has also sent its own policemen abroad to help out at events like the 2022 World

01:39 Cup in Qatar or the London Olympics in 2012.

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